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In a continued campaign to increase oversight over online communications, Russian regulators have cut off access to Snapchat and imposed restrictions on Apple's FaceTime service, FaceTime.

Official Justifications for the Restrictions

The regulatory body Roskomnadzor stated that both applications were being used to facilitate and carry out terrorist acts within the country, for recruiting individuals and engage in fraudulent activities and other crimes aimed at the populace.

Roskomnadzor stated it took action against Snapchat in early October, even though the decision was only made public later.

Wider Campaign of Internet Control

This recent action are part of comparable blocks against major platforms including YouTube, Meta's WhatsApp and Instagram, and the Telegram service. These measures of restrictions escalated after the 2022 military action of Ukraine by Russia.

Under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, Russian officials have pursued calculated and comprehensive initiatives to control the internet. Actions have involved:

• Enacting restrictive laws.
• Blocking online services that fail to comply with state demands.
• Perfecting technical capabilities to track and influence digital communications.

Other Examples of Crackdowns

Access to the YouTube platform was slowed last year in what experts called deliberate throttling by regulators. The Kremlin pointed the finger at YouTube's owner, Google for not properly maintaining its hardware in Russia.

In recent months, authorities further restricted online access with extensive outages of mobile internet connections. The government insisted this was required to prevent Ukrainian drone attacks, but experts saw it as a further measure to increase control over the internet.

Action Against Communication Apps

The government has also targeted popular communication apps. Encrypted messenger Signal and the Viber service, Viber, were restricted in 2024. Furthermore, officials outlawed calls via WhatsApp and Telegram, justifying the ban by saying the platforms were being used for criminal activities.

At the same time, the state have actively promoted a dubbed "national" messenger app called Max. Critics see it as a potential tool for oversight. The service openly declares it will hand over data with the government if demanded, and analysts note it lacks full encryption.

Regulatory Basis and Expert Commentary

According to lawyer and expert Stanislav Seleznev, regulations classifies any service where users can message as an "organizer of dissemination of information".

This classification mandates that such services establish a presence with Roskomnadzor and grant state security with entry to user data. Platforms that fail to meet these demands are breaking the law and can get blocked.

Seleznev noted that possibly a large number of users in Russia had been relying on FaceTime, particularly after voice calls were prohibited on other messaging apps. He called the blocking of the Apple service as "predictable" and cautioned that further services refusing to comply with Roskomnadzor "are likely to be blocked – that's obvious."

Entertainment Sites Also Affected

In a related move, the authorities reported it was banning the online game platform Roblox, claiming it aimed at child protection from illicit content. Per data from research group Mediascope, Roblox was the second-largest gaming site in Russia in October, with close to 8 million monthly users.

While it remains possible to bypass certain of these limitations by utilizing virtual private network services, VPNs themselves are frequently targeted by authorities as well.