🔗 Share this article

In a ongoing campaign to exert greater control over internet access, Russian authorities have cut off access to the social media app Snapchat and placed curbs on Apple's video calling service, FaceTime.

Official Justifications for the Block

The regulatory body Roskomnadzor alleged that the two apps were employed to facilitate and carry out terrorist acts inside Russia, to recruit perpetrators and carry out fraud and other crimes targeting Russian citizens.

The regulator reported it initiated the block on Snapchat in early October, though the decision was only made public more recently.

Broader Context of Internet Control

These latest moves follow comparable blocks imposed on major platforms including YouTube, WhatsApp and Instagram, and the Telegram service. The campaign of censorship escalated after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

Under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, authorities have engaged in deliberate and wide-ranging strategies to curtail the open internet. Actions have involved:

• Adopting stringent legislation.
• Blocking digital platforms that refuse to cooperate with local rules.
• Perfecting technical capabilities to monitor and manipulate digital communications.

Other Instances of Restrictions

Service for YouTube was slowed in the past in an incident described as deliberate throttling by regulators. Russian officials blamed YouTube's owner, Google for not properly maintaining its hardware in Russia.

In recent months, officials limited internet access with extensive shutdowns of cellular data connections. The government claimed this was required to counter Ukrainian drone attacks, but experts saw it as a further measure to increase control over the digital landscape.

Action Against Messaging Platforms

Authorities has also moved against widely-used communication apps. The encrypted app Signal and another popular app, Viber, were restricted in recently. Furthermore, authorities outlawed calls via the WhatsApp app and Telegram, defending the action by saying the platforms were being involved in illegal activities.

Concurrently, authorities have heavily pushed a so-called "national" communication platform called Max. Experts see it as a possible monitoring instrument. The platform explicitly states it will share user data with the government when asked, and analysts note it lacks end-to-end encryption.

Legal Framework and Expert Analysis

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

This classification requires that such services establish a presence with the regulator and allow state security with access to communications. Platforms that fail to comply are breaking the law and face blocking.

Seleznev noted that possibly many millions of users in Russia had been relying on FaceTime, particularly after restrictions were placed on WhatsApp and Telegram. He called the blocking of the Apple service as "predictable" and warned that other platforms refusing to comply with Roskomnadzor "will be blocked – it is inevitable."

Entertainment Platforms Too Targeted

In a related development, the authorities announced it was blocking Roblox, stating the reason was child protection from inappropriate material. Per data from research group Mediascope, the platform was the second-largest game platform in Russia in October, with approximately 8 million active users.

Although it remains feasible to circumvent some of these limitations by using VPN services, such tools are routinely blocked by authorities as well.