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In a sustained crackdown to tighten control over online communications, state regulators have restricted access to Snapchat and placed curbs on Apple's FaceTime service, FaceTime.

Official Reasons for the Ban

Russia's communications watchdog Roskomnadzor alleged that both applications were employed to facilitate and carry out terrorist acts within the country, for recruiting individuals and engage in fraudulent activities and other crimes against citizens.

Officials reported it initiated the block against Snapchat back on the 10th of October, even though the move was publicly disclosed more recently.

Broader Campaign of Online Restrictions

These new restrictions come after previous blocks targeting popular services such as YouTube, WhatsApp and Instagram, and the Telegram service. These measures of restrictions escalated in the wake of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

During the tenure of Vladimir Putin, Russian officials have engaged in deliberate and wide-ranging initiatives to curtail the internet. Measures have included:

• Enacting tough new laws.
• Blocking digital platforms that refuse to cooperate with state demands.
• Advancing systems to track and influence internet traffic.

Recent Examples of Crackdowns

Access to the YouTube platform was slowed previously in a case of intentional slowing by officials. Russian officials attributed the issue to Google for not properly maintaining its hardware in Russia.

This summer, officials tightened online access with extensive disruptions of cellular data connections. Officials claimed this was needed to thwart Ukrainian drone attacks, but experts contended another step to increase control over the digital landscape.

Targeting Messaging Platforms

Regulators has also moved against widely-used communication apps. Encrypted messenger Signal and another popular app, Viber, were blocked in this year. This year, authorities banned voice calls on WhatsApp and Telegram, defending the measure by saying the platforms were being used for illegal activities.

Concurrently, authorities have heavily pushed a so-called "national" communication platform called Max. Experts see it as a potential tool for oversight. The platform explicitly states it will provide user information with officials if demanded, and analysts note it does not use full encryption.

Legal Framework and Analyst Commentary

As explained by cyber security expert Stanislav Seleznev, the legal framework classifies any service where people can communicate as an "information dissemination organizer".

This classification obligates that such services have an account with the regulator and grant Russia's security service with entry to communications. Platforms that fail to comply are non-compliant and face blocking.

Seleznev estimated that possibly a large number of Russians had been using FaceTime, particularly after calls were banned on WhatsApp and Telegram. He described the blocking of the Apple service as "predictable" and stated that other platforms refusing to comply with authorities "are likely to be blocked – that's obvious."

Entertainment Sites Too Targeted

In a related move, the government announced it was blocking the online game platform Roblox, stating the reason was protecting children from inappropriate material. According to media monitoring group Mediascope, the platform was the number two game platform in Russia in October, with nearly 8 million players.

Although it remains possible to bypass certain of these restrictions by utilizing VPN services, those are routinely blocked by the regulator as well.