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Amid a sustained effort to tighten control over digital platforms, state regulators have restricted access to the social media app Snapchat and enacted limitations on the Apple FaceTime service, Apple FaceTime.

Stated Reasons for the Ban

Russia's communications watchdog Roskomnadzor claimed that both applications were employed to plan and execute acts of terrorism inside Russia, to recruit perpetrators and carry out fraud as well as various crimes against citizens.

Roskomnadzor stated it initiated the block on Snapchat back on the 10th of October, even though the move was only made public more recently.

Wider Campaign of Internet Control

This recent action come after comparable restrictions against key apps like YouTube, WhatsApp and Instagram, and the Telegram messaging service. These measures of censorship escalated in the wake of the onset of the conflict of Ukraine.

During the tenure of Vladimir Putin, authorities have engaged in calculated and comprehensive strategies to curtail the digital space. This has included:

• Adopting restrictive laws.
• Outlawing digital platforms that fail to comply with state demands.
• Perfecting systems to observe and control internet traffic.

Other Instances of Crackdowns

Access to the YouTube platform was disrupted in the past in an incident described as deliberate throttling by the authorities. Authorities blamed YouTube's owner, Google for not properly maintaining its hardware in Russia.

In recent months, officials limited internet access with broad outages of cellular data connections. Officials claimed this was required to prevent Ukrainian drone attacks, but analysts argued a further measure to tighten control over the digital landscape.

Targeting Communication Platforms

The government has also acted against widely-used messaging platforms. The encrypted app Signal and the Viber service, Viber, were blocked in this year. Furthermore, officials outlawed voice calls on WhatsApp and Telegram, defending the action by claiming the services were being facilitating crime.

At the same time, authorities have championed a so-called "national" messenger app called "Max". Critics view it as a possible tool for oversight. The platform openly declares it will share user data with officials when asked, and experts note it is not equipped with end-to-end encryption.

Regulatory Basis and Expert Commentary

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

This classification requires that such services establish a presence with Roskomnadzor and allow Russia's security service with access to user accounts. Services failing to meet these demands are non-compliant and can get blocked.

Seleznev estimated that possibly many millions of Russians had been relying on FaceTime, especially after restrictions were placed on other messaging apps. He called the restrictions against the service as "expected" and stated that further services that do not cooperate with authorities "are likely to be blocked – it is inevitable."

Gaming Sites Also Affected

As another move, the government reported it was banning the online game platform Roblox, citing child protection from harmful content. Per data from media monitoring group Mediascope, the platform was the second-largest game platform in Russia recently, with approximately 8 million monthly users.

While it is still possible to get around a few of these limitations by utilizing VPN services, such tools are also often blocked by officials as well.