RUSSIA has blocked Snapchat and FaceTime in a rapid-fire purge that underscores Vladimir Putin’s tightening grip on the country’s online life.
State agency RIA reported Thursday that Snapchat had been blocked after regulators claimed it was used “to organise and carry out terrorist acts within the country, and to recruit perpetrators”.
Within hours, Apple’s FaceTime was also banned, part of what authorities openly frame as an accelerating crackdown on foreign tech platforms.
The sweep is far broader than a routine regulatory dispute.
It’s Putin’s latest phase of a years-long effort to seal Russians off from the outside world, one shutdown at a time.
Roskomnadzor has already throttled YouTube, squeezed Telegram, curbed WhatsApp, and extinguished Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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Now it is targeting services used by everyday Russians for the simple act of staying connected and replacing them with Kremlin-friendly tools.
The regulator justified the FaceTime ban with near-identical language, saying the service was 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.”
Under Vlad, such claims have become the catch-all pretext for erasing platforms the state cannot control.
Experts say the campaign is systematic. Cybersecurity lawyer Stanislav Seleznev told AP that Russian law treats any app with messaging as an “organizer of dissemination of information,” a label that forces companies to maintain an account with Roskomnadzor and give the FSB access to user accounts.
Those who refuse “can get blocked,” he said.
The fate of FaceTime and Roblox, he added, shows “that’s obvious.”
Seleznev estimated “possibly tens of millions” relied on FaceTime after Moscow banned calls via WhatsApp and Telegram earlier this year.
For many, it was the last widely trusted channel for private communication.
But WhatsApp itself now sits on the brink.
The regulator on Friday accused the Meta-owned service of being used “to organize and carry out terrorist activities,” asserting it is “not complying with requirements aimed at preventing and stopping crimes in Russia.”
It warned restrictions “will continue to be expanded” and threatened to block the app outright if it does not fall in line.
Users across the country have already reported disruptions.
Officials are steering Russians instead toward Max, a state-backed messenger that must now come pre-installed on all devices sold in the country.
Critics call it a surveillance tool, but authorities call it the future.
The purge is not limited to messaging. Moscow this week blocked the US gaming platform Roblox, declaring it “rife with inappropriate content that can negatively impact the spiritual and moral development of children,” and accusing it of distributing extremist materials and “LGBT propaganda.”
Roblox rejected the allegations, saying it maintains “a robust set of proactive and preventative safety measures.”
Since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia has built a thickening digital curtain, deploying laws, throttling techniques and outright bans to control what its citizens see and say.
Even VPNs, once a lifeline, are routinely blocked.
Authorities have introduced regional “white lists” ensuring only state-approved sites remain reachable during shutdowns.