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Amid a continued crackdown to tighten control over online communications, Russian officials have blocked access to the social media app Snapchat and imposed restrictions on the Apple video calling service, Apple FaceTime.

Stated Reasons for the Block

The regulatory body Roskomnadzor stated that these services were employed to organize and conduct terrorist activities on Russian soil, to recruit perpetrators and commit fraud along with other offenses aimed at the populace.

The regulator said it enforced the restriction on Snapchat on October 10, although the announcement was publicly disclosed later.

Wider Campaign of Online Restrictions

This recent action follow previous blocks against key apps including Google's YouTube, Meta's WhatsApp and Instagram, and the Telegram messaging service. These measures of censorship intensified following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

Since Vladimir Putin, authorities have undertaken systematic and wide-ranging strategies to control the internet. Actions have involved:

• Passing stringent legislation.
• Banning websites and platforms that do not comply with local rules.
• Developing technical capabilities to monitor and manipulate digital communications.

Other Examples of Restrictions

Service for YouTube was disrupted in the past in an incident described as deliberate throttling by regulators. Authorities attributed the issue to YouTube's owner, Google for allegedly neglecting its servers in Russia.

This summer, authorities limited internet access with widespread shutdowns of mobile internet connections. The government claimed this was needed to thwart Ukrainian drone attacks, but experts saw it as a further measure to tighten control over the internet.

Action Against Communication Apps

Regulators has also moved against widely-used communication apps. Encrypted messenger Signal and the Viber service, Viber, were restricted in recently. This year, officials banned calls via WhatsApp and Telegram, explaining the ban by stating the platforms were being involved in criminal activities.

Simultaneously, the state have actively promoted a dubbed "domestic" messenger app called Max. Experts view it as a possible tool for oversight. The app explicitly states it will share user data with authorities if demanded, and analysts note it is not equipped with strong encryption.

Legal Framework and Expert Analysis

Per cyber security expert Stanislav Seleznev, the legal framework defines any platform where people can communicate as an "organizer of dissemination of information".

This designation mandates that such services register with Roskomnadzor and provide the FSB with the ability to monitor user data. Platforms that fail to do so are breaking the law and can get blocked.

Seleznev estimated that possibly many millions of Russians had been turning to FaceTime, particularly after calls were banned on WhatsApp and Telegram. He described the blocking of the Apple service as "predictable" and cautioned that further services refusing to comply with authorities "face blocking – that is clear."

Entertainment Sites Too Targeted

As another development, the government announced it was restricting the online game platform Roblox, citing child protection from harmful content. According to media monitoring group Mediascope, the platform was the number two game platform in Russia last month, with close to eight million players.

While it is still possible to circumvent some of these limitations by employing VPN services, VPNs themselves are frequently targeted by the regulator as well.