🔗 Share this article

Amid a sustained campaign to increase oversight over internet access, state officials have blocked access to the social media app Snapchat and placed curbs on Apple's video calling service, FaceTime.

Official Reasons for the Ban

The regulatory body Roskomnadzor alleged that both applications were employed to plan and execute terrorist acts within the country, to enlist people and commit fraud along with other offenses against citizens.

The regulator said it took action against Snapchat on October 10, although the decision was publicly disclosed later.

Broader Campaign of Online Restrictions

These latest moves follow similar blocks against popular services such as Google's YouTube, WhatsApp and Instagram, and the Telegram service. These measures of censorship escalated after the 2022 military action of Ukraine by Russia.

Under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, Russian officials have undertaken systematic and wide-ranging strategies to curtail the open internet. Measures have included:

• Enacting restrictive laws.
• Outlawing online services that refuse to cooperate with Russian regulations.
• Perfecting technical capabilities to monitor and manipulate digital communications.

Recent Instances of Crackdowns

Service for YouTube was disrupted in the past in what experts called targeted interference by officials. Russian officials attributed the issue to YouTube's owner, Google for failing to maintain its hardware in Russia.

Recently, authorities tightened internet access with widespread shutdowns of mobile internet connections. Officials claimed this was needed to thwart drone strikes, but analysts saw it as another step to tighten control over the digital landscape.

Targeting Communication Platforms

The government has also targeted widely-used messaging platforms. Encrypted messenger Signal and the Viber service, Viber, were blocked in this year. Furthermore, authorities banned calls via the WhatsApp app and Telegram, justifying the measure by claiming the platforms were being used for crime.

At the same time, authorities have championed a dubbed "domestic" communication platform called Max. Experts view it as a potential surveillance tool. The app openly declares it will share user data with authorities if demanded, and analysts note it is not equipped with end-to-end encryption.

Legal Framework and Analyst Analysis

Per lawyer and expert Stanislav Seleznev, Russian law defines any service where users can message as an "organizer of dissemination of information".

This classification requires that platforms establish a presence with Roskomnadzor and provide Russia's security service with the ability to monitor communications. Services failing to meet these demands are breaking the law and face blocking.

Seleznev pointed out that potentially tens of millions of Russians had been turning to FaceTime, especially after restrictions were placed on WhatsApp and Telegram. He called the blocking of the service as "expected" and cautioned that further services that do not cooperate with authorities "will be blocked – that's obvious."

Gaming Platforms Also Affected

As another action, the government announced it was banning the online game platform Roblox, claiming it aimed at safeguarding minors from harmful content. Per data from media monitoring group Mediascope, the platform was the second most popular gaming site in Russia recently, with nearly 8 million active users.

While it remains possible to get around a few of these blocks by employing virtual private network services, those are also often blocked by authorities as well.