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—
Russia
block social media platforms
Snapchat
and Apple’s FaceTime video calling service.This step was taken after Russia accused the two platforms of being used to organize acts of terrorism and recruit domestic criminals.
In a separate announcement on Thursday (4/12), Russia’s state internet regulator, Roskomnadzor, accused the two platforms of being used to organize and carry out acts of terrorism within the country, as well as recruiting perpetrators of criminal acts.
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Launch
Al Jazeera
, the regulator stated that action had been taken on October 10, although an official announcement was only made this week.Neither Apple nor Snap Inc, Snapchat’s parent company, have commented on the move.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Snapchat announced it was ending ad sales to Russian and Belarusian media buyers, while praising the resilience of the Ukrainian people.
Under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin, Russian authorities have made a deliberate and multifaceted effort to control the internet.
Technology has been developed to monitor and manipulate online traffic, and platforms and websites have been banned for not complying with restrictive laws.
These efforts have intensified since the war began, with authorities blocking major social media sites such as X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram.
Access to YouTube was also disrupted last year, with experts accusing authorities of deliberately limiting the speed of the hugely popular site.The Kremlin blamed Google, which owns YouTube, for failing to maintain its technology infrastructure in Russia.
The site, used by more than 50 million Russians every day, is one of the last bastions of free expression in the country and a place where many of the Kremlin’s critics continue to operate.
In 2024, authorities blocked the encrypted messaging app Signal, as well as the popular app Viber.Calls via Russia’s first and second most popular messaging apps, WhatsApp and Telegram, were blocked in August.
Roskomnadzor again justified the measures with claims that the platforms were being used for criminal activities.Last week, regulators threatened to ban WhatsApp completely if it refused to share information with law enforcement in fraud and “terrorism” cases.
Virtual private network (VPN) services, once effective for circumventing online restrictions, are increasingly being blocked by Russian authorities.
While cracking down on foreign technology companies, the Kremlin is promoting its “national” instant messaging app, MAX.Developed by state-controlled technology company VK, MAX is positioned as an all-in-one platform for instant messaging, online government services and payments.
Moscow claims that MAX is more secure against fraud and ensures a “safer” digital ecosystem, but critics say the app could be used to track users.Since September 1, all new phones and tablets sold in Russia are required to have the app installed by default.
The app developers have openly stated that they will share user data with authorities upon request.
(wpj/dmi)
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