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In a ongoing effort to increase oversight over online communications, state authorities have restricted access to Snapchat and enacted limitations on Apple's FaceTime service, FaceTime.

Official Reasons for the Restrictions

The state internet regulator Roskomnadzor claimed that the two apps were utilized to organize and conduct acts of terrorism on Russian soil, to recruit perpetrators and commit fraud and other crimes targeting Russian citizens.

Officials said it initiated the block targeting Snapchat back on the 10th of October, although the move was only made public on Thursday.

Wider Context of Digital Crackdown

These new restrictions come after comparable limitations imposed on key apps including Google's YouTube, WhatsApp and Instagram, and the Telegram service. This wave of restrictions intensified after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

Since Vladimir Putin, Russian officials have pursued systematic and comprehensive strategies to control the open internet. This has included:

• Enacting tough new laws.
• Outlawing online services that fail to comply with Russian regulations.
• Perfecting systems to monitor and manipulate digital communications.

Recent Instances of Blocks

Access to the YouTube platform was slowed last year in what experts called intentional slowing by regulators. The Kremlin attributed the issue to YouTube's owner, Google for not properly maintaining its hardware in Russia.

Recently, officials limited online access with widespread disruptions of mobile internet connections. Officials insisted this was needed to thwart drone strikes, but critics contended a further measure to assert dominance over the digital landscape.

Targeting Communication Apps

The government has also moved against popular messaging platforms. Encrypted messenger Signal and the Viber service, Viber, were restricted in 2024. Furthermore, authorities banned voice calls on WhatsApp and Telegram, defending the measure by saying the platforms were being involved in illegal activities.

Simultaneously, authorities have actively promoted a so-called "national" communication platform called Max. Critics regard it as a possible monitoring instrument. The platform openly declares it will hand over data with the government if demanded, and experts note it does not use end-to-end encryption.

Legal Framework and Analyst Analysis

According to cyber security expert Stanislav Seleznev, the legal framework views any service where users can message as an "information dissemination organizer".

This label requires that such services register with Roskomnadzor and grant Russia's security service with the ability to monitor user accounts. Services failing to comply are in violation and may be banned.

Seleznev noted that perhaps many millions of Russians had been using FaceTime, especially after restrictions were placed on WhatsApp and Telegram. He called the restrictions against the Apple service as "predictable" and warned that other platforms refusing to comply with Roskomnadzor "will be blocked – that's obvious."

Entertainment Sites Too Affected

As another move, the authorities announced it was blocking Roblox, stating the reason was protecting children from illicit content. Per data from research group Mediascope, the platform was the number two gaming site in Russia recently, with close to 8 million monthly users.

While it remains feasible to bypass certain of these limitations by utilizing virtual private network services, VPNs themselves are also often blocked by authorities as well.