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Amid a ongoing campaign to tighten control over online communications, state authorities have blocked access to the social media app Snapchat and placed curbs on Apple's video calling service, Apple FaceTime.

Stated Justifications for the Restrictions

The state internet regulator Roskomnadzor alleged that these services were utilized to organize and conduct terrorist acts inside Russia, for recruiting individuals and carry out fraud along with other offenses aimed at the populace.

Roskomnadzor stated it took action on Snapchat in early October, though the move was only made public more recently.

Broader Campaign of Online Restrictions

These new restrictions follow similar limitations imposed on popular services such as YouTube, Meta's WhatsApp and Instagram, and the Telegram messaging service. The campaign of censorship intensified after the onset of the conflict of Ukraine by Russia.

During the tenure of Vladimir Putin, the government have engaged in systematic and wide-ranging efforts to rein in the open internet. Measures have included:

• Passing restrictive laws.
• Blocking websites and platforms that fail to comply with Russian regulations.
• Developing systems to observe and control digital communications.

Other Instances of Blocks

Service for YouTube was disrupted previously in what experts called targeted interference by officials. The Kremlin pointed the finger at Google for not properly maintaining its servers in Russia.

This summer, officials tightened connectivity with extensive shutdowns of cellphone internet connections. Officials claimed this was required to thwart Ukrainian drone attacks, but analysts argued a further measure to assert dominance over the internet.

Targeting Messaging Platforms

The government has also moved against popular messaging platforms. The encrypted app Signal and the Viber service, Viber, were blocked in this year. This year, officials banned voice calls on WhatsApp and Telegram, explaining the measure by saying the platforms were being facilitating illegal activities.

Concurrently, authorities have championed a dubbed "national" communication platform called "Max". Observers see it as a potential surveillance tool. The platform explicitly states it will hand over data with authorities if demanded, and experts note it does not use full encryption.

Regulatory Basis and Expert Commentary

Per cyber security expert Stanislav Seleznev, Russian law views any platform where people can communicate as an "organizer of dissemination of information".

This designation obligates that such services have an account with Roskomnadzor and grant state security with entry to communications. Services failing to do so are in violation and face blocking.

Seleznev estimated that potentially a large number of Russians had been using FaceTime, particularly after calls were banned on other messaging apps. He called the restrictions against the service as "predictable" and stated that other sites failing to cooperate with Roskomnadzor "will be blocked – that is clear."

Entertainment Sites Also Affected

In a related action, the government announced it was blocking Roblox, stating the reason was safeguarding minors from harmful content. Per data from research group Mediascope, the platform was the number two game platform in Russia recently, with close to 8 million players.

While it remains feasible to bypass certain of these limitations by utilizing virtual private network services, VPNs themselves are frequently targeted by authorities as well.