Russia's state communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, announced on Friday that it has blocked access to the Signal messaging app. This decision is part of the government's ongoing efforts to tighten controls over information amidst the conflict in Ukraine.
Roskomnadzor cited Signal's alleged violation of Russian legislation as the reason for the ban, stating that the messenger app failed to comply with requirements aimed at preventing its use for terrorist and extremist purposes. Signal's use of end-to-end encryption has made it challenging for Russian authorities to intercept communications.
Following Russian President Vladimir Putin's deployment of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, the Russian government has intensified its crackdown on dissent and free media. Several independent Russian-language media outlets critical of the Kremlin have been blocked, and access to platforms like Twitter (now X), Meta's Facebook, and Instagram has been restricted.
In a further restriction on the flow of information, YouTube experienced widespread outages on Thursday after facing repeated slowdowns in recent weeks. While Russian authorities have attributed the slowdowns to Google's alleged failure to upgrade its equipment in Russia, experts have questioned this explanation. Many believe that the Kremlin's motive behind the slowdowns and the subsequent outage was to limit public access to a major platform that hosts opposition viewpoints.
