Russian Authorities Blocks Snapchat and Cracks Down on Apple's FaceTime, Officials Say

Amid a sustained campaign to increase oversight over online communications, state officials have cut off access to Snapchat and imposed restrictions on Apple's FaceTime service, FaceTime.

Stated Reasons for the Restrictions

The regulatory body Roskomnadzor alleged that both applications were being used to facilitate and carry out acts of terrorism on Russian soil, to recruit perpetrators and engage in fraudulent activities and other crimes targeting Russian citizens.

Officials stated it enforced the restriction against Snapchat on October 10, although the announcement was only made public later.

Broader Context of Internet Control

This recent action come after comparable restrictions against major platforms such as Google's YouTube, Meta's WhatsApp and Instagram, and the Telegram messaging service. These measures of censorship escalated following the onset of the conflict of Ukraine.

During the tenure of Vladimir Putin, the government have undertaken systematic and comprehensive initiatives to control the digital space. Measures have included:

• Passing stringent legislation.
• Outlawing websites and platforms that fail to comply with state demands.
• Perfecting technical capabilities to observe and control online traffic.

Recent Examples of Blocks

Access to the YouTube platform was slowed in the past in a case of deliberate throttling by officials. Russian officials pointed the finger at Google for failing to maintain its infrastructure in Russia.

In recent months, officials limited connectivity with broad outages of cellphone internet connections. Officials insisted this was needed to thwart Ukrainian drone attacks, but analysts argued a further measure to assert dominance over the internet.

Targeting Communication Platforms

Authorities has also targeted widely-used communication apps. The encrypted app Signal and another popular app, Viber, were blocked in recently. This year, officials banned voice calls on WhatsApp and Telegram, explaining the measure by stating the services were being used for crime.

Simultaneously, the state have championed a dubbed "national" messenger app called Max. Critics see it as a potential surveillance tool. The service admits it will provide user information with the government upon request, and analysts note it lacks full encryption.

Regulatory Basis and Analyst Commentary

Per cyber security expert Stanislav Seleznev, regulations views any service where people can communicate as an "organizer of dissemination of information".

This classification obligates that such services establish a presence with the regulator and grant the FSB with the ability to monitor user data. Services failing to meet these demands are in violation and face blocking.

Seleznev noted that perhaps a large number of users in Russia had been relying on FaceTime, especially after voice calls were prohibited on WhatsApp and Telegram. He called the blocking of the service as "expected" and stated that other sites refusing to comply with authorities "face blocking – that's obvious."

Entertainment Platforms Too Affected

As another action, the authorities reported it was blocking Roblox, claiming it aimed at protecting children from inappropriate material. Per data from research group Mediascope, Roblox was the second most popular gaming site in Russia recently, with close to 8 million active users.

Although it remains feasible to get around a few of these restrictions by using virtual private network services, VPNs themselves are frequently targeted by authorities as well.