Reuters reports that Russia has blocked the use of Apple’s FaceTime app at the network level, leaving users in the country who try to connect through Apple’s encrypted video platform with a “User Unavailable” message.
According to the report, the Russian communications agency Roskomnadzor justified its blocking by saying: “According to law enforcement agencies, FaceTime is used to organize and carry out terrorist attacks in the country, recruit perpetrators and commit fraud and other crimes against Russian citizens.” » The report notes that no evidence was presented to support these allegations.
Russia has recently cracked down on foreign platforms that do not voluntarily track their users on behalf of the Russian government. Communications on platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram have been restricted and Roskomnadzor has also threatened to completely block WhatsApp. The Roblox game was blocked on Wednesday for spreading “LGBT propaganda”.
Coincidentally, the Russian government launched a competing messaging app named Max earlier this year and plans to develop it into a “superapp” similar to China’s WeChat. Max must be pre-installed on smartphones sold in Russia, including iPhones.
