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In a ongoing effort to exert greater control over internet access, state authorities have restricted access to Snapchat and placed curbs on Apple's FaceTime service, Apple FaceTime.

Official Justifications for the Restrictions

The regulatory body Roskomnadzor alleged that both applications were being used to facilitate and carry out terrorist activities within the country, to enlist people and commit fraud as well as various crimes targeting Russian citizens.

The regulator reported it took action on Snapchat back on the 10th of October, although the move was only reported more recently.

Broader Campaign of Digital Crackdown

These latest moves are part of previous limitations against key apps such as Google's YouTube, Meta's WhatsApp and Instagram, and the Telegram messaging service. These measures of bans began in earnest after the 2022 military action of Ukraine by Russia.

Under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, authorities have undertaken systematic and wide-ranging initiatives to control the open internet. Measures have included:

• Adopting stringent legislation.
• Banning digital platforms that refuse to cooperate with state demands.
• Advancing technology to track and influence internet traffic.

Other Instances of Crackdowns

Service for the YouTube platform was disrupted last year in what experts called intentional slowing by the authorities. Russian officials pointed the finger at YouTube's owner, Google for failing to maintain its hardware in Russia.

In recent months, officials further restricted online access with broad outages of cellular data connections. The government insisted this was needed to counter drone strikes, but experts saw it as an additional move to increase control over the internet.

Action Against Communication Platforms

The government has also moved against popular messaging platforms. The encrypted app Signal and the Viber service, Viber, were banned in 2024. Additionally, authorities banned calls via the WhatsApp app and Telegram, explaining the ban by stating the services were being involved in illegal activities.

At the same time, the state have championed a dubbed "national" communication platform called Max. Observers view it as a possible monitoring instrument. The platform openly declares it will hand over data with officials upon request, and analysts note it does not use end-to-end encryption.

Regulatory Basis and Analyst Commentary

Per lawyer and expert Stanislav Seleznev, regulations defines any service where users can message as an "organizer of dissemination of information".

This label mandates that platforms establish a presence with the regulator and allow the FSB with entry to user data. Services failing to meet these demands are non-compliant and may be banned.

Seleznev noted that perhaps tens of millions of Russians had been relying on FaceTime, especially after restrictions were placed on WhatsApp and Telegram. He called the blocking of the Apple service as "expected" and stated that further services failing to cooperate with Roskomnadzor "are likely to be blocked – that's obvious."

Gaming Platforms Also Targeted

As another move, the authorities announced it was blocking the online game platform Roblox, stating the reason was protecting children from harmful content. Per data from research group Mediascope, the platform was the second most popular gaming site in Russia last month, with close to eight million active users.

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