Russia Bans Messaging App Signal: Roskomnadzor Confirms

Russian state communications watchdog Roskomnadzor confirms ban of popular messaging app Signal in Russia. The e cryptic messaging app was blocked on grounds of defying “anti terrorism laws in Russia. 

“Access to the Signal messaging app is blocked in connection with violation of the requirements of Russian legislation which must be complied with to prevent the use of messaging apps for terrorist and extremist aims,” Interfax quoted the agency as saying.

Before Roskomnadzor announced its intervention, hundreds of Signal users reported issues with the messaging app, which is used by up to a million Russians for encrypted communication. 

Signal banned in Russia: Here’s what the experts say

Internet monitoring sites recorded over 1,500 complaints about Signal, predominantly from Moscow and St. Petersburg. Users noted that the app functioned normally when accessed through a VPN or its built-in censorship bypass mode.

“This indicates precisely a blocking of the messenger in Russia and not a technical problem on the Signal side,” Mikhail Klimarev, author of the Telegram channel “For Telecom”, told Reuters.

It was also impossible to register a new account on Signal without a VPN, three people from Moscow and the Krasnodar region told Reuters. When entering a mobile number, the service displayed the message “Server Error”.

“Access to the Signal messaging app is blocked in connection with violation of the requirements of Russian legislation which must be complied with to prevent the use of messaging apps for terrorist and extremist aims,” Interfax quoted the agency as saying

Will Russia ban WhatsApp and YouTube next?

The Russian government is reportedly preparing to block WhatsApp, according to independent publication Verstka, which cited sources from Russian IT company VK that is developing a WhatsApp replacement. In addition, Gazeta.ru reported in July that the government plans to block YouTube entirely in September, though Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has denied these claims.

With 93 million users, YouTube is seen as Russia’s “last bastion of free expression and information” amidst a broad crackdown on media and the internet. On August 8, many Russian users experienced a major outage of YouTube, unable to access the site through browsers.

In April, a Moscow court upheld a $50 million fine against Google’s parent company, Alphabet, for not removing content deemed by Russia as discrediting its armed forces and promoting extremist views—a frequent characterization by the Kremlin for any content challenging its state propaganda.

Follow Wat-Not on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram