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Amid a sustained campaign to exert greater control over digital platforms, state authorities have restricted access to the social media app Snapchat and enacted limitations on Apple's video calling service, Apple FaceTime.

Stated Justifications for the Ban

The regulatory body Roskomnadzor claimed that these services were employed to plan and execute acts of terrorism within the country, to enlist people and carry out fraud along with other offenses aimed at the populace.

The regulator stated it enforced the restriction against Snapchat on October 10, although the decision was only made public on Thursday.

Broader Context of Online Restrictions

These latest moves are part of previous blocks imposed on major platforms such as Google's YouTube, WhatsApp and Instagram, and the Telegram service. This wave of bans intensified after the onset of the conflict of Ukraine by Russia.

Since Vladimir Putin, the government have engaged in deliberate and comprehensive strategies to control the digital space. Measures have included:

• Enacting stringent legislation.
• Outlawing online services that fail to comply with local rules.
• Advancing technical capabilities to monitor and manipulate internet traffic.

Recent Instances of Crackdowns

Service for the YouTube platform was disrupted last year in a case of intentional slowing by officials. Russian officials blamed YouTube's owner, Google for not properly maintaining its infrastructure in Russia.

In recent months, officials tightened online access with broad outages of cellular data connections. The government insisted this was needed to thwart drone strikes, but critics argued a further measure to increase control over the internet.

Targeting Communication Apps

Authorities has also moved against widely-used messaging platforms. Encrypted messenger Signal and another popular app, Viber, were blocked in this year. Furthermore, officials outlawed calls via the WhatsApp app and Telegram, justifying the action by stating the two apps were being involved in crime.

At the same time, authorities have championed a dubbed "domestic" communication platform called "Max". Experts regard it as a potential monitoring instrument. The service openly declares it will hand over data with officials upon request, and analysts note it does not use strong encryption.

Regulatory Basis and Expert Analysis

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

This classification requires that such services establish a presence with Roskomnadzor and provide the FSB with the ability to monitor communications. Those failing to meet these demands are non-compliant and may be banned.

Seleznev pointed out that potentially a large number of Russians had been turning to FaceTime, especially after voice calls were prohibited on WhatsApp and Telegram. He called the blocking of the Apple service as "expected" and cautioned that other sites failing to cooperate with authorities "will be blocked – it is inevitable."

Entertainment Platforms Also Affected

In a separate move, the government reported it was banning the online game platform Roblox, stating the reason was protecting children from illicit content. Per data from research group Mediascope, Roblox was the second-largest game platform in Russia last month, with close to 8 million monthly users.

Although it is still possible to circumvent some of these blocks by using virtual private network services, those are also often blocked by officials as well.