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In a sustained effort to exert greater control over online communications, Russian officials have cut off access to Snapchat and enacted limitations on Apple's FaceTime service, FaceTime.

Official Reasons for the Restrictions

The regulatory body Roskomnadzor claimed that the two apps were being used to organize and conduct terrorist activities within the country, for recruiting individuals and engage in fraudulent activities as well as various crimes against citizens.

Officials stated it took action on Snapchat in early October, even though the announcement was only made public on Thursday.

Broader Context of Online Restrictions

These new restrictions follow similar blocks targeting popular services such as YouTube, WhatsApp and Instagram, and the Telegram service. These measures of bans escalated in the wake of the onset of the conflict of Ukraine.

During the tenure of Vladimir Putin, Russian officials have pursued systematic and wide-ranging initiatives to curtail the open internet. Measures have included:

• Enacting restrictive laws.
• Blocking digital platforms that refuse to cooperate with Russian regulations.
• Advancing technology to observe and control internet traffic.

Other Instances of Restrictions

Access to the YouTube platform was throttled previously in an incident described as deliberate throttling by regulators. Authorities pointed the finger at YouTube's owner, Google for not properly maintaining its servers in Russia.

Recently, authorities limited internet access with extensive shutdowns of cellular data connections. Officials stated this was necessary to thwart drone strikes, but experts saw it as a further measure to assert dominance over the internet.

Targeting Communication Apps

Regulators has also acted against widely-used communication apps. The encrypted app Signal and the Viber service, Viber, were banned in recently. This year, officials prohibited voice calls on the WhatsApp app and Telegram, justifying the ban by saying the platforms were being involved in crime.

At the same time, authorities have championed a so-called "domestic" communication platform called Max. Observers regard it as a potential monitoring instrument. The app explicitly states it will hand over data with the government when asked, and experts note it lacks end-to-end encryption.

Regulatory Basis and Expert Analysis

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

This label mandates that platforms register with Roskomnadzor and allow state security with entry to user data. Platforms that fail to meet these demands are breaking the law and may be banned.

Seleznev estimated that possibly tens of millions of Russians had been turning to FaceTime, particularly after calls were banned on WhatsApp and Telegram. He called the restrictions against the service as "predictable" and warned that further services that do not cooperate with authorities "will be blocked – it is inevitable."

Gaming Sites Also Targeted

In a related development, the government 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 approximately eight million monthly users.

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