🔗 Share this article

As part of a sustained crackdown to increase oversight over digital platforms, state regulators have cut off access to Snapchat and placed curbs on Apple's FaceTime service, FaceTime.

Official Reasons for the Restrictions

The state internet regulator Roskomnadzor claimed that these services were employed to organize and conduct terrorist acts inside Russia, to recruit perpetrators and engage in fraudulent activities as well as various crimes against citizens.

Roskomnadzor said it enforced the restriction against Snapchat back on the 10th of October, even though the decision was publicly disclosed more recently.

Broader Context of Digital Crackdown

These latest moves come after comparable limitations imposed on popular services including YouTube, WhatsApp and Instagram, and the Telegram service. This wave of restrictions began in earnest in the wake of the 2022 military action of Ukraine.

Since Vladimir Putin, the government have undertaken systematic and wide-ranging initiatives to rein in the internet. This has included:

• Adopting tough new laws.
• Banning online services that do not comply with local rules.
• Advancing technical capabilities to monitor and manipulate online traffic.

Other Instances of Crackdowns

Access to the YouTube platform was throttled previously in what experts called deliberate throttling by officials. The Kremlin pointed the finger at Google for failing to maintain its hardware in Russia.

In recent months, officials limited connectivity with widespread outages of cellular data connections. The government insisted this was necessary to counter drone strikes, but analysts contended an additional move to assert dominance over the digital landscape.

Targeting Communication Platforms

Authorities has also moved against widely-used messaging platforms. Encrypted messenger Signal and another popular app, Viber, were banned in this year. Additionally, officials outlawed calls via WhatsApp and Telegram, justifying the measure by saying the services were being used for illegal activities.

Simultaneously, the state have actively promoted a so-called "domestic" communication platform called Max. Critics regard it as a possible monitoring instrument. The service admits it will provide user information with officials upon request, and analysts note it does not use end-to-end encryption.

Legal Framework and Analyst Commentary

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

This classification obligates that such services have an account with Roskomnadzor and provide Russia's security service with access to user data. Services failing to meet these demands are non-compliant and may be banned.

Seleznev pointed out that potentially a large number of Russians had been turning to FaceTime, especially after voice calls were prohibited on WhatsApp and Telegram. He called the blocking of the Apple service as "expected" and warned that further services refusing to comply with Roskomnadzor "face blocking – that's obvious."

Entertainment Platforms Also Affected

As another development, the authorities also said it was restricting Roblox, claiming it aimed at protecting children from harmful content. Per data from research group Mediascope, the platform was the second most popular game platform in Russia last month, with close to eight million monthly users.

Although it remains possible to circumvent some of these restrictions by utilizing virtual private network services, such tools are frequently targeted by the regulator as well.