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Amid a ongoing crackdown to tighten control over online communications, Russian officials have cut off access to Snapchat and placed curbs on Apple's FaceTime service, FaceTime.

Stated Justifications for the Restrictions

The state internet regulator Roskomnadzor claimed that the two apps were employed to organize and conduct acts of terrorism on Russian soil, to recruit perpetrators and commit fraud and other crimes targeting Russian citizens.

Officials reported it initiated the block targeting Snapchat in early October, even though the decision was only reported more recently.

Broader Campaign of Online Restrictions

These new restrictions are part of previous restrictions targeting major platforms including YouTube, WhatsApp and Instagram, and the Telegram messaging service. This wave of censorship began in earnest following the onset of the conflict of Ukraine.

Under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, authorities have undertaken deliberate and wide-ranging efforts to rein in the open internet. Measures have included:

• Enacting stringent legislation.
• Outlawing digital platforms that fail to comply with local rules.
• Advancing technical capabilities to track and influence internet traffic.

Recent Examples of Crackdowns

Access to the YouTube platform was slowed last year in what experts called targeted interference by officials. The Kremlin blamed Google for not properly maintaining its hardware in Russia.

This summer, authorities further restricted connectivity with extensive outages of cellular data connections. The government insisted this was necessary to thwart Ukrainian drone attacks, but experts contended an additional move to increase control over the internet.

Targeting Messaging Apps

Authorities has also acted against widely-used messaging platforms. Encrypted messenger Signal and the Viber service, Viber, were restricted in recently. Additionally, authorities prohibited calls via WhatsApp and Telegram, justifying the action by stating the two apps were being used for criminal activities.

Concurrently, authorities have heavily pushed a dubbed "domestic" communication platform called "Max". Critics view it as a potential monitoring instrument. The app explicitly states it will provide user information with the government if demanded, and experts note it lacks full encryption.

Regulatory Basis and Expert Analysis

According to cyber security expert Stanislav Seleznev, the legal framework defines any service where users can message as an "information dissemination organizer".

This label mandates that such services register with Roskomnadzor and grant the FSB with access to user accounts. Platforms that fail to meet these demands are non-compliant and can get blocked.

Seleznev noted that perhaps tens of millions of users in Russia had been using FaceTime, especially after voice calls were prohibited on other messaging apps. He called the blocking of the service as "expected" and stated that further services that do not cooperate with authorities "are likely to be blocked – that is clear."

Entertainment Platforms Also Affected

In a related move, the government also said it was banning Roblox, stating the reason was child protection from inappropriate material. Per data from research group Mediascope, the platform was the second most popular game platform in Russia recently, with approximately 8 million active users.

Although it remains feasible to get around a few of these blocks by utilizing virtual private network services, those are routinely blocked by officials as well.