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

Official Reasons for the Restrictions

The regulatory body Roskomnadzor stated that these services were utilized to facilitate and carry out terrorist acts inside Russia, to recruit perpetrators and engage in fraudulent activities and other crimes aimed at the populace.

Officials said it enforced the restriction targeting Snapchat in early October, though the move was publicly disclosed more recently.

Wider Context of Digital Crackdown

This recent action come after similar restrictions imposed on key apps such as Google's YouTube, WhatsApp and Instagram, and the Telegram messaging service. This wave of censorship intensified after the 2022 military action of Ukraine.

Under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, authorities have pursued deliberate and multi-pronged initiatives to control the open internet. Actions have involved:

• Adopting restrictive laws.
• Banning websites and platforms that refuse to cooperate with Russian regulations.
• Developing technical capabilities to observe and control online traffic.

Other Examples of Restrictions

Service for YouTube was slowed in the past in a case of deliberate throttling by officials. Russian officials blamed Google for failing to maintain its hardware in Russia.

This summer, officials tightened connectivity with broad shutdowns of mobile internet connections. Officials claimed this was required to counter Ukrainian drone attacks, but analysts saw it as another step to assert dominance over the digital landscape.

Action Against Messaging Platforms

Authorities has also moved against widely-used messaging platforms. The encrypted app Signal and another popular app, Viber, were banned in recently. Furthermore, authorities prohibited calls via WhatsApp and Telegram, explaining the measure by saying the services were being facilitating criminal activities.

Concurrently, the state have actively promoted a so-called "national" communication platform called "Max". Experts regard it as a possible tool for oversight. The app explicitly states it will provide user information with the government upon request, and analysts note it is not equipped with end-to-end encryption.

Legal Framework and Analyst Analysis

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

This designation requires that platforms have an account with Roskomnadzor and provide the FSB with the ability to monitor user accounts. Services failing to meet these demands are in violation and face blocking.

Seleznev noted that possibly tens of millions of users in Russia had been using FaceTime, particularly after calls were banned on other messaging apps. He described the restrictions against the service as "predictable" and stated that other platforms refusing to comply with authorities "face blocking – it is inevitable."

Gaming Sites Too Targeted

In a related move, the authorities reported it was restricting Roblox, citing safeguarding minors from inappropriate material. According to media monitoring group Mediascope, Roblox was the second most popular game platform in Russia in October, with close to eight million monthly users.

Although it remains feasible to bypass certain of these restrictions by utilizing virtual private network services, such tools are also often blocked by officials as well.