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Amid a sustained campaign to increase oversight over online communications, Russian authorities have blocked access to the social media app Snapchat and imposed restrictions on the Apple video calling service, Apple FaceTime.

Official Reasons for the Ban

The regulatory body Roskomnadzor alleged that these services were being used to plan and execute acts of terrorism within the country, for recruiting individuals and engage in fraudulent activities and other crimes aimed at the populace.

Officials said it took action against Snapchat back on the 10th of October, even though the announcement was publicly disclosed on Thursday.

Wider Campaign of Internet Control

These latest moves come after similar blocks imposed on major platforms including YouTube, Meta's WhatsApp and Instagram, and the Telegram service. The campaign of bans intensified after the 2022 military action of Ukraine.

Under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, the government have undertaken deliberate and wide-ranging efforts to curtail the internet. Measures have included:

• Passing restrictive laws.
• Blocking websites and platforms that do not comply with Russian regulations.
• Perfecting systems to observe and control digital communications.

Other Examples of Blocks

Access to YouTube was disrupted in the past in a case of deliberate throttling by the authorities. The Kremlin attributed the issue to YouTube's owner, Google for not properly maintaining its servers in Russia.

Recently, officials limited online access with widespread disruptions of mobile internet connections. The government insisted this was necessary to counter Ukrainian drone attacks, but experts argued a further measure to assert dominance over the internet.

Targeting Messaging Apps

Regulators has also targeted widely-used messaging platforms. Encrypted messenger Signal and another popular app, Viber, were blocked in recently. This year, authorities banned voice calls on WhatsApp and Telegram, defending the ban by claiming the services were being facilitating crime.

At the same time, the state have championed a dubbed "domestic" communication platform called "Max". Experts see it as a possible monitoring instrument. The platform openly declares it will provide user information with officials if demanded, and experts note it is not equipped with end-to-end encryption.

Legal Framework and Analyst Analysis

As explained by cyber security expert Stanislav Seleznev, regulations views any platform where people can communicate as an "information dissemination organizer".

This classification obligates that platforms have an account with Roskomnadzor and grant Russia's security service with the ability to monitor communications. Services failing to comply are breaking the law and can get blocked.

Seleznev pointed out that perhaps a large number of users in Russia had been turning to FaceTime, particularly after calls were banned on WhatsApp and Telegram. He described the blocking of the Apple service as "expected" and warned that other platforms refusing to comply with Roskomnadzor "are likely to be blocked – it is inevitable."

Gaming Sites Also Targeted

In a separate development, the authorities reported it was blocking the online game platform Roblox, stating the reason was child protection from illicit content. Per data from research group Mediascope, the platform was the second-largest game platform in Russia recently, with close to eight million active users.

Although it is still possible to circumvent some of these limitations by employing virtual private network services, VPNs themselves are frequently targeted by the regulator as well.