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As part of a continued effort to exert greater control over online communications, state authorities have blocked access to the social media app Snapchat and enacted limitations on Apple's video calling service, Apple FaceTime.

Official Reasons for the Block

The state internet regulator Roskomnadzor alleged that both applications were being used to organize and conduct acts of terrorism within the country, to enlist people and commit fraud as well as various crimes aimed at the populace.

The regulator said it took action against Snapchat in early October, even though the announcement was only made public on Thursday.

Wider Campaign of Online Restrictions

This recent action follow similar blocks against major platforms such as Google's YouTube, WhatsApp and Instagram, and the Telegram messaging service. These measures of censorship intensified following the 2022 military action of Ukraine by Russia.

During the tenure of Vladimir Putin, Russian officials have undertaken systematic and wide-ranging strategies to control the digital space. Actions have involved:

• Adopting stringent legislation.
• Outlawing digital platforms that refuse to cooperate with Russian regulations.
• Advancing systems to observe and control internet traffic.

Other Instances of Crackdowns

Access to YouTube was slowed previously in an incident described as intentional slowing by the authorities. The Kremlin attributed the issue to YouTube's owner, Google for not properly maintaining its infrastructure in Russia.

In recent months, authorities tightened online access with broad outages of cellphone internet connections. Officials claimed this was required to prevent Ukrainian drone attacks, but experts contended a further measure to tighten control over the internet.

Action Against Communication Platforms

Regulators has also moved against widely-used communication apps. Encrypted messenger Signal and the Viber service, Viber, were banned in recently. Furthermore, authorities outlawed voice calls on WhatsApp and Telegram, explaining the measure by claiming the two apps were being used for criminal activities.

Simultaneously, the state have heavily pushed a so-called "domestic" messenger app called Max. Experts see it as a potential tool for oversight. The platform openly declares it will hand over data with the government when asked, and experts note it does not use end-to-end encryption.

Regulatory Basis and Analyst Analysis

Per lawyer and expert Stanislav Seleznev, regulations defines any platform where people can communicate as an "information dissemination organizer".

This classification requires that platforms register with the regulator and provide the FSB with access to communications. Platforms that fail to comply are non-compliant and can get blocked.

Seleznev noted that potentially tens of millions of Russians had been relying on FaceTime, particularly after restrictions were placed on other messaging apps. He described the restrictions against the Apple service as "expected" and stated that further services refusing to comply with Roskomnadzor "are likely to be blocked – it is inevitable."

Gaming Sites Too Affected

As another development, the government announced it was restricting the online game platform Roblox, citing child protection from inappropriate material. Per data from research group Mediascope, Roblox was the number two gaming site in Russia last month, with close to 8 million players.

Although it remains feasible to bypass certain of these blocks by utilizing VPN services, those are frequently targeted by the regulator as well.