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Amid a ongoing campaign to increase oversight over digital platforms, state regulators have cut off access to Snapchat and placed curbs on the Apple video calling service, FaceTime.

Stated Reasons for the Ban

The regulatory body Roskomnadzor claimed that these services were employed to facilitate and carry out acts of terrorism inside Russia, to recruit perpetrators and commit fraud and other crimes aimed at the populace.

The regulator said it enforced the restriction targeting Snapchat back on the 10th of October, though the announcement was only made public later.

Broader Context of Internet Control

These new restrictions come after previous blocks targeting major platforms such as Google's YouTube, Meta's WhatsApp and Instagram, and the Telegram messaging service. The campaign of restrictions escalated in the wake of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

Since Vladimir Putin, authorities have engaged in systematic and wide-ranging strategies to rein in the open internet. Measures have included:

• Adopting tough new laws.
• Blocking online services that refuse to cooperate with local rules.
• Advancing systems to monitor and manipulate internet traffic.

Other Instances of Restrictions

Service for the YouTube platform was slowed last year in what experts called deliberate throttling by officials. Russian officials pointed the finger at Google for not properly maintaining its hardware in Russia.

In recent months, officials tightened online access with broad shutdowns of mobile internet connections. Officials stated this was needed to prevent Ukrainian drone attacks, but critics argued an additional move to increase control over the internet.

Action Against Communication Apps

Authorities has also acted against widely-used messaging platforms. Encrypted messenger Signal and the Viber service, Viber, were restricted in recently. Furthermore, officials prohibited calls via the WhatsApp app and Telegram, justifying the action by stating the two apps were being involved in crime.

Concurrently, authorities have actively promoted a so-called "national" messenger app called "Max". Observers see it as a potential surveillance tool. The platform explicitly states it will hand over data with authorities upon request, and analysts note it does not use full encryption.

Regulatory Basis and Analyst Analysis

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

This designation obligates that platforms have an account with the regulator and allow the FSB with entry to communications. Services failing to do so are in violation and can get blocked.

Seleznev pointed out that perhaps many millions of users in Russia had been turning to FaceTime, particularly after voice calls were prohibited on WhatsApp and Telegram. He called the restrictions against the Apple service as "predictable" and cautioned that further services failing to cooperate with Roskomnadzor "face blocking – it is inevitable."

Gaming Sites Also Affected

In a separate move, the authorities reported it was blocking the online game platform Roblox, claiming it aimed at safeguarding minors from illicit content. According to media monitoring group Mediascope, Roblox was the second most popular gaming site in Russia recently, with close to eight million players.

While it is still feasible to get around a few of these blocks by employing VPN services, VPNs themselves are also often blocked by officials as well.