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Amid a sustained campaign to exert greater control over online communications, state authorities have restricted access to the social media app Snapchat and placed curbs on Apple's FaceTime service, FaceTime.

Official Reasons for the Ban

Russia's communications watchdog Roskomnadzor alleged that the two apps were utilized to organize and conduct acts of terrorism within the country, to enlist people and engage in fraudulent activities as well as various crimes against citizens.

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

Wider Campaign of Digital Crackdown

This recent action are part of similar blocks targeting key apps like YouTube, Meta's WhatsApp and Instagram, and the Telegram messaging service. The campaign of censorship escalated following the onset of the conflict of Ukraine by Russia.

Since Vladimir Putin, the government have pursued deliberate and comprehensive initiatives to rein in the internet. This has included:

• Passing restrictive laws.
• Outlawing digital platforms that fail to comply with state demands.
• Perfecting technology to track and influence online traffic.

Recent Examples of Blocks

Access to YouTube was slowed previously in what experts called deliberate throttling by the authorities. The Kremlin pointed the finger at YouTube's owner, Google for not properly maintaining its hardware in Russia.

In recent months, officials further restricted connectivity with widespread outages of cellphone internet connections. Officials claimed this was needed to prevent Ukrainian drone attacks, but experts argued another step to increase control over the digital landscape.

Action Against Communication Platforms

Regulators has also moved against widely-used communication apps. Encrypted messenger Signal and another popular app, Viber, were banned in this year. Additionally, authorities prohibited voice calls on the WhatsApp app and Telegram, explaining the measure by saying the platforms were being facilitating crime.

Simultaneously, authorities have championed a dubbed "national" communication platform called "Max". Observers see it as a possible monitoring instrument. The app admits it will hand over data with the government if demanded, and analysts note it is not equipped with full encryption.

Legal Framework and Analyst Analysis

As explained by lawyer and expert Stanislav Seleznev, Russian law defines any platform where people can communicate as an "organizer of dissemination of information".

This designation mandates that platforms have an account with Roskomnadzor and provide the FSB with entry to communications. Services failing to meet these demands are breaking the law and face blocking.

Seleznev noted 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 Apple service as "predictable" and stated that further services refusing to comply with authorities "will be blocked – that's obvious."

Entertainment Sites Too Targeted

In a related action, the authorities announced it was blocking Roblox, claiming it aimed at protecting children from harmful content. According to research group Mediascope, the platform was the second-largest gaming site in Russia last month, with close to 8 million players.

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