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Amid a continued campaign to increase oversight over internet access, Russian officials have cut off access to the social media app Snapchat and enacted limitations on Apple's FaceTime service, Apple FaceTime.

Stated Reasons for the Restrictions

The regulatory body Roskomnadzor claimed that both applications were employed to plan and execute acts of terrorism on Russian soil, to recruit perpetrators and commit fraud and other crimes aimed at the populace.

Officials said it enforced the restriction against Snapchat in early October, though the decision was only made public more recently.

Wider Context of Online Restrictions

These latest moves come after similar restrictions targeting popular services such as Google's YouTube, Meta's WhatsApp and Instagram, and the Telegram messaging service. This wave of bans escalated in the wake of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

During the tenure of Vladimir Putin, authorities have undertaken deliberate and wide-ranging efforts to curtail the open internet. Measures have included:

• Adopting tough new laws.
• Outlawing digital platforms that fail to comply with state demands.
• Advancing technical capabilities to track and influence internet traffic.

Other Examples of Restrictions

Access to YouTube was disrupted last year in a case of deliberate throttling by officials. Russian officials blamed YouTube's owner, Google for not properly maintaining its infrastructure in Russia.

In recent months, authorities limited connectivity with broad shutdowns of cellphone internet connections. The government insisted this was needed to prevent drone strikes, but experts argued another step to assert dominance over the internet.

Targeting Communication Apps

The government has also acted against widely-used communication apps. The encrypted app Signal and another popular app, Viber, were restricted in this year. Furthermore, authorities outlawed calls via WhatsApp and Telegram, defending the ban by stating the platforms were being facilitating criminal activities.

At the same time, the state have actively promoted a dubbed "national" communication platform called "Max". Observers view it as a potential monitoring instrument. The service openly declares it will share user data with the government if demanded, and analysts note it is not equipped with full encryption.

Regulatory Basis and Expert Commentary

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

This label requires that platforms establish a presence with the regulator and grant state security with access to user accounts. Services failing to do so are non-compliant and can get blocked.

Seleznev noted that possibly a large number of users in Russia had been relying on FaceTime, particularly after voice calls were prohibited on other messaging apps. He called the blocking of the service as "predictable" and stated that other platforms that do not cooperate with authorities "face blocking – that's obvious."

Gaming Platforms Too Affected

In a related move, the government also said it was banning Roblox, claiming it aimed at protecting children from harmful content. Per data from media monitoring group Mediascope, Roblox was the second most popular game platform in Russia in October, with nearly 8 million active users.

While it remains feasible to get around a few of these limitations by utilizing VPN services, VPNs themselves are frequently targeted by the regulator as well.