Russia Restricts Snapchat and Cracks Down on Apple's FaceTime, Regulators Announce

In a continued campaign to increase oversight over internet access, Russian authorities have restricted access to the social media app Snapchat and enacted limitations on Apple's video calling service, Apple FaceTime.

Official Reasons for the Ban

Russia's communications watchdog Roskomnadzor claimed that both applications were being used to organize and conduct terrorist acts on Russian soil, to enlist people and commit fraud and other crimes aimed at the populace.

Roskomnadzor said it enforced the restriction on Snapchat back on the 10th of October, though the decision was publicly disclosed more recently.

Broader Campaign of Online Restrictions

These new restrictions come after similar blocks imposed on key apps like YouTube, WhatsApp and Instagram, and the Telegram messaging service. This wave of censorship intensified after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, the government have pursued calculated and wide-ranging efforts to rein in the open internet. Actions have involved:

• Enacting tough new laws.
• Outlawing digital platforms that fail to comply with state demands.
• Perfecting technology to observe and control internet traffic.

Recent Instances of Blocks

Access to the YouTube platform was throttled in the past in an incident described as deliberate throttling by the authorities. Authorities attributed the issue to YouTube's owner, Google for failing to maintain its hardware in Russia.

This summer, authorities limited connectivity with extensive disruptions of mobile internet connections. The government claimed this was required to counter Ukrainian drone attacks, but critics contended a further measure to assert dominance over the internet.

Action Against Communication Apps

The government has also moved against widely-used messaging platforms. The encrypted app Signal and another popular app, Viber, were blocked in recently. Additionally, authorities outlawed calls via WhatsApp and Telegram, justifying the ban by saying the services were being used for criminal activities.

Concurrently, the state have actively promoted a so-called "national" communication platform called "Max". Observers see it as a potential surveillance tool. The platform openly declares it will share user data with the government if demanded, and analysts note it does not use end-to-end encryption.

Regulatory Basis and Expert Commentary

Per lawyer and expert Stanislav Seleznev, the legal framework classifies any platform where people can communicate as an "information dissemination organizer".

This designation obligates that platforms register with Roskomnadzor and provide the FSB with entry to communications. Services failing to do so are non-compliant and can get blocked.

Seleznev estimated that potentially tens of millions of Russians had been relying on FaceTime, particularly after restrictions were placed on other messaging apps. He described the restrictions against the service as "expected" and warned that other sites that do not cooperate with Roskomnadzor "are likely to be blocked – it is inevitable."

Entertainment Platforms Too Targeted

In a related development, the authorities reported it was banning Roblox, citing protecting children from illicit content. According to research group Mediascope, Roblox was the number two game platform in Russia in October, with close to 8 million players.

While it remains possible to bypass certain of these restrictions by using VPN services, such tools are also often blocked by officials as well.