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In a ongoing effort to increase oversight over internet access, state regulators have blocked access to Snapchat and imposed restrictions on the Apple FaceTime service, FaceTime.

Official Reasons for the Ban

Russia's communications watchdog Roskomnadzor claimed that these services were being used to facilitate and carry out terrorist activities within the country, to recruit perpetrators and commit fraud along with other offenses aimed at the populace.

Officials said it enforced the restriction targeting Snapchat on October 10, even though the move was publicly disclosed on Thursday.

Wider Campaign of Online Restrictions

These latest moves come after similar blocks against popular services like YouTube, Meta's WhatsApp and Instagram, and the Telegram service. This wave of restrictions intensified in the wake of the 2022 military action of Ukraine by Russia.

Since Vladimir Putin, authorities have pursued systematic and wide-ranging initiatives to control the internet. Actions have involved:

• Enacting restrictive laws.
• Banning digital platforms that fail to comply with state demands.
• Developing technical capabilities to observe and control digital communications.

Recent Examples of Crackdowns

Access to the YouTube platform was disrupted last year in a case of targeted interference by officials. Russian officials attributed the issue to YouTube's owner, Google for not properly maintaining its servers in Russia.

This summer, authorities tightened online access with extensive outages of mobile internet connections. The government insisted this was needed to thwart drone strikes, but critics argued another step to tighten control over the internet.

Action Against Communication Apps

The government has also targeted widely-used messaging platforms. Encrypted messenger Signal and the Viber service, Viber, were banned in recently. This year, officials banned voice calls on WhatsApp and Telegram, explaining the action by claiming the platforms were being involved in crime.

At the same time, the state have heavily pushed a dubbed "domestic" messenger app called "Max". Observers view it as a potential monitoring instrument. The platform admits it will hand over data with the government upon request, and analysts note it does not use full encryption.

Regulatory Basis and Analyst Commentary

Per cyber security expert Stanislav Seleznev, the legal framework views any platform where users can message as an "information dissemination organizer".

This classification requires that platforms register with the regulator and allow the FSB with access to communications. Platforms that fail to meet these demands are non-compliant and may be banned.

Seleznev pointed out that perhaps many millions of Russians had been turning to FaceTime, particularly after voice calls were prohibited on other messaging apps. He called the restrictions against the Apple service as "expected" and warned that other sites failing to cooperate with Roskomnadzor "will be blocked – that is clear."

Gaming Sites Too Affected

In a related action, the authorities also said it was blocking Roblox, citing child protection from illicit content. According to research group Mediascope, Roblox was the second most popular game platform in Russia recently, with approximately eight million monthly users.

Although it is still possible to get around a few of these limitations by using virtual private network services, such tools are also often blocked by the regulator as well.