Russian authorities have moved to restrict Apple's video calling service, FaceTime, marking the latest escalation in the Kremlin's long-running campaign to assert control over the country's digital landscape.
The Official Justification for the Ban
State internet regulator Roskomnadzor announced the restrictions on Thursday 04 December 2025. In a statement, it alleged that FaceTime was being exploited to "organise and conduct terrorist activities" within Russia, as well as for recruitment, fraud, and other crimes targeting citizens. Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the action.
This step is part of a deliberate, multi-faceted strategy under President Vladimir Putin to rein in the internet. The government has passed restrictive laws and perfected technology to monitor and manipulate online traffic. Following the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, major platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram were blocked.
A Pattern of Digital Restriction
The crackdown has extended across the digital sphere. Last year, access to YouTube was disrupted in what experts called deliberate throttling. Popular encrypted messengers have also been targeted: Signal and Viber were blocked in 2024, and this year, voice calls via WhatsApp and Telegram were banned, with Roskomnadzor citing criminal use.
Simultaneously, authorities have promoted a state-backed messenger called MAX. Critics view it as a surveillance tool, as it openly states it will share user data with authorities upon request and lacks end-to-end encryption.
Just this week, the government also said it was blocking the popular gaming platform Roblox, claiming it was to protect children from illicit content. According to media monitor Mediascope, Roblox was the second most popular game platform in Russia in October, with nearly 8 million monthly users.
Expert Analysis and Wider Implications
Stanislav Seleznev, a cybersecurity expert and lawyer with the Net Freedom rights group, explained the legal mechanism. Russian law labels any platform where users can message as an "organiser of dissemination of information." This requires them to register with Roskomnadzor and grant the FSB security service access to user accounts for monitoring. Failure to comply leads to blocking.
Seleznev suggested this regulation was likely applied to both Roblox and FaceTime. He estimated that possibly tens of millions of Russians have been using FaceTime, especially after the bans on WhatsApp and Telegram calls. He called the move "predictable" and warned that other sites failing to cooperate with Roskomnadzor "will be blocked, that’s obvious."
While some Russians use VPNs to bypass restrictions, these are routinely blocked. Further control was exerted this summer through widespread cellphone internet shutdowns, officially to thwart drone attacks but seen by experts as another control measure. Many regions now operate with "white lists" of government-approved sites that remain accessible during outages.
The cumulative effect of these actions represents a significant constriction of digital space and communication freedoms for Russian citizens, aligning with a broader policy of information control.
