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As part of a sustained campaign to increase oversight over digital platforms, Russian officials have restricted access to the social media app Snapchat and enacted limitations on Apple's video calling service, Apple FaceTime.

Official Justifications for the Ban

Russia's communications watchdog Roskomnadzor stated that these services were being used to plan and execute acts of terrorism inside Russia, for recruiting individuals and carry out fraud as well as various crimes targeting Russian citizens.

The regulator stated it enforced the restriction targeting Snapchat back on the 10th of October, although the decision was only reported more recently.

Wider Campaign of Online Restrictions

This recent action are part of comparable blocks against major platforms like Google's YouTube, Meta's WhatsApp and Instagram, and the Telegram messaging service. These measures of restrictions intensified following the 2022 military action of Ukraine.

During the tenure of Vladimir Putin, the government have engaged in calculated and wide-ranging efforts to curtail the digital space. Actions have involved:

• Adopting restrictive laws.
• Outlawing digital platforms that fail to comply with state demands.
• Perfecting technical capabilities to monitor and manipulate online traffic.

Recent Examples of Blocks

Service for YouTube was throttled last year in a case of deliberate throttling by officials. Russian officials blamed Google for failing to maintain its infrastructure in Russia.

This summer, authorities limited internet access with extensive outages of cellular data connections. The government insisted this was necessary to counter Ukrainian drone attacks, but analysts saw it as an additional move to tighten control over the internet.

Targeting Messaging Apps

Regulators has also targeted widely-used communication apps. Encrypted messenger Signal and the Viber service, Viber, were restricted in recently. This year, authorities outlawed voice calls on the WhatsApp app and Telegram, defending the ban by saying the services were being used for crime.

At the same time, authorities have actively promoted a dubbed "domestic" communication platform called Max. Experts see it as a possible surveillance tool. The platform explicitly states it will hand over data with officials upon request, and experts note it is not equipped with strong encryption.

Legal Framework and Expert Analysis

As explained by lawyer and expert Stanislav Seleznev, Russian law defines any service where users can message as an "organizer of dissemination of information".

This designation obligates that platforms have an account with Roskomnadzor and provide Russia's security service with the ability to monitor user accounts. Those failing to meet these demands are breaking the law and face blocking.

Seleznev pointed out that potentially tens of millions of Russians had been turning to FaceTime, particularly after restrictions were placed on other messaging apps. He called the restrictions against the service as "predictable" and stated that further services that do not cooperate with Roskomnadzor "face blocking – that is clear."

Gaming Sites Also Targeted

In a separate development, the authorities reported it was banning Roblox, stating the reason was safeguarding minors from illicit content. Per data from research group Mediascope, Roblox was the number two game platform in Russia in October, with approximately 8 million players.

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