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Amid a sustained effort to increase oversight over digital platforms, Russian regulators have blocked access to Snapchat and enacted limitations on Apple's video calling service, Apple FaceTime.

Official Justifications for the Restrictions

The regulatory body Roskomnadzor stated that the two apps were being used to organize and conduct acts of terrorism on Russian soil, to enlist people and commit fraud as well as various crimes aimed at the populace.

Officials reported it enforced the restriction targeting Snapchat in early October, even though the decision was only reported later.

Wider Campaign of Internet Control

This recent action come after similar restrictions against major platforms like YouTube, WhatsApp and Instagram, and the Telegram service. The campaign of restrictions escalated in the wake of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

Under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, the government have engaged in systematic and wide-ranging initiatives to control the internet. This has included:

• Enacting stringent legislation.
• Outlawing online services that refuse to cooperate with local rules.
• Perfecting systems to monitor and manipulate online traffic.

Other Instances of Crackdowns

Service for the YouTube platform was throttled previously in an incident described as deliberate throttling by officials. Russian officials pointed the finger at Google for allegedly neglecting its infrastructure in Russia.

Recently, officials further restricted connectivity with extensive outages of cellular data connections. Officials claimed this was required to thwart drone strikes, but analysts contended another step to increase control over the internet.

Targeting Communication Apps

Authorities has also acted against widely-used communication apps. The encrypted app Signal and another popular app, Viber, were blocked in recently. Additionally, officials outlawed voice calls on WhatsApp and Telegram, justifying the measure by stating the platforms were being involved in crime.

Concurrently, authorities have heavily pushed a dubbed "domestic" messenger app called Max. Observers view it as a potential surveillance tool. The app admits it will hand over data with officials when asked, and analysts note it is not equipped with strong encryption.

Legal Framework and Expert Analysis

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

This classification obligates that platforms have an account with Roskomnadzor and grant state security with access to user data. Those failing to comply are non-compliant and can get blocked.

Seleznev estimated that possibly many millions of Russians had been relying on FaceTime, particularly after voice calls were prohibited on other messaging apps. He described the restrictions against the Apple service as "predictable" and stated that other sites failing to cooperate with authorities "are likely to be blocked – that is clear."

Gaming Platforms Too Affected

As another action, the authorities reported it was banning the online game platform Roblox, claiming it aimed at child protection from illicit content. Per data from media monitoring group Mediascope, the platform was the second most popular game platform in Russia last month, with nearly 8 million monthly users.

Although it remains feasible to circumvent some of these limitations by employing virtual private network services, such tools are routinely blocked by officials as well.