Russia blocks Snapchat and restricts Apple’s FaceTime, state officials say

Russian authorities blocked access to Snapchat and imposed restrictions on Apple’s video calling service, FaceTime, the latest step in an effort to tighten control over the internet and communications online, according to state-run news agencies and the country’s communications regulator.The state internet regulator Roskomnadzor alleged in a statement that both apps were being “used to organize and conduct terrorist activities on the territory of the country, to recruit perpetrators [and] commit fraud and other crimes against our citizens”. Apple did not respond to an emailed request for comment, nor did Snap Inc.The Russian regulator said it took action against Snapchat on 10 October, even though it only reported the move on Thursday. The moves follow restrictions against Google’s YouTube, Meta’s WhatsApp and Instagram, and the Telegram messaging service, itself founded by a Russian-born man, that came in the wake of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.Under Vladimir Putin, authorities have engaged in deliberate and multi-pronged efforts to rein in the internet. They have adopted restrictive laws and banned websites and platforms that don’t comply. Technology has also been perfected to monitor and manipulate online traffic.Access to YouTube was disrupted last year in what experts called deliberate throttling of the widely popular site by the authorities. The Kremlin blamed YouTube owner Google for not properly maintaining its hardware in Russia.While it’s still possible to circumvent some of the restrictions by using virtual private network services, those are routinely blocked, too.Authorities further restricted internet access this summer with widespread shutdowns of cellphone internet connections. Officials have insisted the measure was needed to thwart Ukrainian drone attacks, but experts argued it was another step to tighten internet control. In dozens of regions, “white lists” of government-approved sites and services that are supposed to function despite a shutdown have been introduced.The government has also acted against popular messaging platforms. The encrypted messenger Signal and another popular app, Viber, were blocked in 2024. This year, authorities banned calls via WhatsApp, the most popular messaging app in Russia, and Telegram, a close second. Roskomnadzor justified the measure by saying the two apps were being used for criminal activities.At the same time, authorities actively promoted a “national” messenger app called Max, which critics see as a surveillance tool. The platform, touted by developers and officials as a one-stop shop for messaging, online government services, making payments and more, openly declares it will share user data with authorities upon request. Experts also say it does not use end-to-end encryption.Earlier this week, the government also said it was blocking Roblox, a popular online game platform, saying the step aimed at protecting children from illicit content and “pedophiles who meet minors directly in the game’s chats and then move on to real life”. Roblox in October was the second most popular game platform in Russia, with nearly 8 million monthly users, according to the media monitoring group Mediascope.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionStanislav Seleznev, cyber security expert and lawyer with the Net Freedom rights group, said that Russian law views any platform where users can message each other as “organizers of dissemination of information”.This label mandates that platforms have an account with Roskomnadzor so that it could communicate its demands, and give Russia’s security service, the FSB, access to accounts of their users for monitoring; those failing to comply are in violation and can get blocked, Seleznev said.Seleznev estimated that possibly tens of millions of Russians have been using FaceTime, especially after calls were banned on WhatsApp and Telegram. He called the restrictions against the service “predictable” and warned that other sites failing to cooperate with Roskomnadzor “will be blocked – that’s obvious”.