Russia bans Apple’s FaceTime and Snapchat calling, tightening internet control

Russian authorities announced Thursday that they have imposed restrictions on Apple's video calling service, FaceTime, marking the latest step in an effort to tighten state control over the internet and online communications.

State internet regulator Roskomnadzor alleged in a statement that the service is being "used to organise 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 immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

The Russian regulator also announced that it has blocked Snapchat, a messaging app for sharing photos, videos, and text messages, citing the same grounds it gave for restricting FaceTime. It noted that it took the action on October 10, even though it only reported the move on Thursday.

Escalation of controls

Under President Vladimir Putin, authorities have engaged in deliberate and multi-pronged efforts to rein in the internet. They have adopted restrictive laws, banned websites and platforms that do not comply, and perfected technology to monitor and manipulate online traffic.

• Social Media: After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the government blocked major social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
• Video Platforms: Access to YouTube was disrupted last year in what experts called deliberate throttling of the widely popular site by the authorities. The Kremlin, however, blamed YouTube owner Google for not properly maintaining its hardware in Russia.
• Circumvention: While it is still possible to circumvent some of the restrictions by using Virtual Private Network (VPN) services, these are routinely blocked as well.

Messaging apps and surveillance

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 argue 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:

• 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, and making payments, 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, claiming 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".

Regulatory justification

Stanislav Seleznev, a cybersecurity expert and lawyer with the Net Freedom rights group, told The Associated Press that Russian law views any platform where users can message each other as "organizers of dissemination of information".

This label mandates that platforms must have an account with Roskomnadzor so that it can communicate its demands, and must give Russia's security service, the FSB, access to their users' accounts for monitoring. Those failing to comply are in violation and can be blocked, Seleznev explained. He suggested that these regulations could have been applied to both Roblox and FaceTime.

Roblox was the second most popular game platform in Russia in October, with nearly 8 million monthly users, according to the media monitoring group Mediascope.

Seleznev estimated that possibly tens of millions of Russians had 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."