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As part of a continued campaign to exert greater control over digital platforms, state authorities have blocked access to Snapchat and imposed restrictions on Apple's video calling service, Apple FaceTime.

Stated Justifications for the Restrictions

The state internet regulator Roskomnadzor stated that the two apps were employed to facilitate and carry out terrorist activities within the country, to recruit perpetrators and carry out fraud along with other offenses aimed at the populace.

Roskomnadzor said it enforced the restriction on Snapchat back on the 10th of October, even though the move was only made public on Thursday.

Broader Context of Online Restrictions

These new restrictions come after comparable restrictions targeting key apps including YouTube, Meta's WhatsApp and Instagram, and the Telegram service. These measures of restrictions intensified in the wake of the 2022 military action of Ukraine.

Since Vladimir Putin, the government have engaged in calculated and wide-ranging efforts to curtail the open internet. Actions have involved:

• Passing stringent legislation.
• Outlawing websites and platforms that refuse to cooperate with Russian regulations.
• Developing technical capabilities to observe and control internet traffic.

Recent Instances of Crackdowns

Service for YouTube was throttled last year in a case of intentional slowing by regulators. The Kremlin blamed YouTube's owner, Google for not properly maintaining its hardware in Russia.

This summer, officials limited connectivity with widespread outages of mobile internet connections. The government stated this was necessary to thwart drone strikes, but critics argued a further measure to assert dominance over the internet.

Action Against Communication Platforms

Authorities has also acted against popular communication apps. The encrypted app Signal and the Viber service, Viber, were restricted in 2024. Furthermore, authorities prohibited voice calls on WhatsApp and Telegram, explaining the ban by stating the services were being facilitating illegal activities.

Simultaneously, the state have championed a dubbed "domestic" messenger app called Max. Experts regard it as a potential monitoring instrument. The app openly declares it will hand over data with officials upon request, and analysts note it lacks strong encryption.

Legal Framework and Expert Commentary

Per cyber security expert Stanislav Seleznev, regulations defines any platform where users can message as an "organizer of dissemination of information".

This label requires that such services have an account with Roskomnadzor and grant state security with entry to communications. Services failing to comply are non-compliant and face blocking.

Seleznev noted that possibly tens of millions of Russians had been relying on FaceTime, especially after restrictions were placed on other messaging apps. He called the restrictions against the Apple service as "predictable" and warned that further services failing to cooperate with authorities "will be blocked – that's obvious."

Entertainment Sites Too Targeted

As another action, the government reported it was restricting Roblox, claiming it aimed at safeguarding minors from inappropriate material. Per data from research group Mediascope, the platform was the second most popular gaming site in Russia in October, with close to 8 million active users.

While it remains possible to bypass certain of these blocks by using virtual private network services, such tools are frequently targeted by authorities as well.