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Amid a continued effort to exert greater control over online communications, Russian officials have restricted access to the social media app Snapchat and imposed restrictions on the Apple FaceTime service, Apple FaceTime.

Official Justifications for the Restrictions

The state internet regulator Roskomnadzor alleged that these services were employed to facilitate and carry out acts of terrorism inside Russia, to recruit perpetrators and engage in fraudulent activities and other crimes targeting Russian citizens.

Officials reported it took action on Snapchat on October 10, although the announcement was only made public more recently.

Broader Campaign of Digital Crackdown

These new restrictions are part of previous blocks against popular services such as Google's YouTube, Meta's WhatsApp and Instagram, and the Telegram messaging service. This wave of bans intensified after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

Under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, the government have undertaken deliberate and multi-pronged initiatives to control the digital space. Measures have included:

• Enacting tough new laws.
• Outlawing online services that do not comply with local rules.
• Perfecting technology to monitor and manipulate internet traffic.

Recent Instances of Blocks

Access to the YouTube platform was throttled previously in an incident described as intentional slowing by officials. The Kremlin pointed the finger at YouTube's owner, Google for failing to maintain its hardware in Russia.

In recent months, authorities limited internet access with extensive outages of mobile internet connections. Officials stated this was required to thwart Ukrainian drone attacks, but analysts argued an additional move to assert dominance over the internet.

Action Against Messaging Platforms

Authorities has also moved against popular communication apps. Encrypted messenger Signal and the Viber service, Viber, were restricted in 2024. Additionally, officials prohibited voice calls on the WhatsApp app and Telegram, justifying the ban by saying the platforms were being facilitating illegal activities.

Concurrently, authorities have heavily pushed a dubbed "national" communication platform called "Max". Observers regard it as a possible tool for oversight. The app openly declares it will hand over data with officials if demanded, and analysts note it is not equipped with strong encryption.

Regulatory Basis and Expert Analysis

Per lawyer and expert Stanislav Seleznev, regulations views any service where users can message as an "information dissemination organizer".

This designation obligates that platforms establish a presence with Roskomnadzor and provide Russia's security service with entry to user data. Platforms that fail to meet these demands are breaking the law and may be banned.

Seleznev pointed out that perhaps tens of millions of users in Russia had been turning to FaceTime, particularly after calls were banned on other messaging apps. He called the blocking of the Apple service as "expected" and cautioned that other sites that do not cooperate with authorities "will be blocked – that is clear."

Entertainment Sites Also Targeted

In a related development, the government also said it was restricting Roblox, stating the reason was protecting children from inappropriate material. Per data from media monitoring group Mediascope, Roblox was the second most popular gaming site in Russia recently, with close to 8 million monthly users.

Although it remains possible to circumvent some of these blocks by employing VPN services, VPNs themselves are routinely blocked by the regulator as well.