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As part of a sustained effort to exert greater control over internet access, state officials have restricted access to Snapchat and placed curbs on the Apple FaceTime service, Apple FaceTime.

Official Reasons for the Ban

Russia's communications watchdog Roskomnadzor alleged that both applications were employed to plan and execute terrorist acts on Russian soil, to recruit perpetrators and carry out fraud and other crimes targeting Russian citizens.

The regulator reported it took action on Snapchat in early October, although the announcement was publicly disclosed on Thursday.

Wider Context of Digital Crackdown

This recent action come after comparable blocks imposed on popular services including Google's YouTube, WhatsApp and Instagram, and the Telegram service. This wave of restrictions began in earnest after the 2022 military action of Ukraine.

Since Vladimir Putin, authorities have undertaken systematic and wide-ranging strategies to curtail the open internet. Actions have involved:

• Enacting restrictive laws.
• Banning digital platforms that fail to comply with state demands.
• Advancing technology to monitor and manipulate internet traffic.

Recent Examples of Crackdowns

Service for YouTube was throttled previously in a case of intentional slowing by the authorities. Russian officials pointed the finger at YouTube's owner, Google for failing to maintain its servers in Russia.

In recent months, officials further restricted internet access with extensive disruptions of mobile internet connections. The government insisted this was necessary to thwart drone strikes, but analysts saw it as another step to assert dominance over the internet.

Action Against Communication Apps

The government has also acted against widely-used communication apps. The encrypted app Signal and another popular app, Viber, were blocked in this year. Furthermore, authorities outlawed voice calls on WhatsApp and Telegram, defending the ban by saying the services were being facilitating crime.

Simultaneously, authorities have championed a dubbed "domestic" messenger app called Max. Critics regard it as a potential monitoring instrument. The app admits it will share user data with officials if demanded, and analysts note it is not equipped with end-to-end encryption.

Legal Framework and Analyst Analysis

As explained by lawyer and expert Stanislav Seleznev, the legal framework defines any service where users can message as an "organizer of dissemination of information".

This classification mandates that such services register with the regulator and allow state security with the ability to monitor user data. Platforms that fail to do so are non-compliant and face blocking.

Seleznev estimated that perhaps many millions of Russians had been using FaceTime, particularly after voice calls were prohibited on WhatsApp and Telegram. He called the restrictions against the service as "predictable" and warned that other sites refusing to comply with authorities "are likely to be blocked – it is inevitable."

Entertainment Platforms Too Affected

As another move, the government also said it was banning the online game platform Roblox, citing safeguarding minors from inappropriate material. Per data from research group Mediascope, the platform was the number two game platform in Russia in October, with close to 8 million active users.

Although it is still possible to bypass certain of these limitations by utilizing VPN services, those are frequently targeted by officials as well.