Russia's media regulator, Roskomnadzor, has officially confirmed the blocking of the widely-used messaging app Signal, citing "violations" of the nation’s anti-terror legislation, as reported by state news agency TASS. This announcement follows a wave of user complaints that surged on Friday morning, with many in Russia experiencing difficulties in sending and receiving messages. Monitoring agency SBOY.RF noted that it had received over 2,000 reports regarding the app’s malfunctioning.
Security and Censorship
Signal has gained a reputation as one of the most secure messaging platforms available, thanks to its robust end-to-end encryption that protects both messages and calls from interception by service providers and law enforcement. In response to the recent developments, Signal took to its official X account on Friday evening, acknowledging reports of access issues in certain countries. The company advised users to activate the app’s built-in censorship circumvention feature to maintain access.
The timing of Signal’s blockage is particularly noteworthy, occurring just a day after numerous Russian users reported difficulties accessing the video-sharing platform YouTube. In a move that many interpreted as retaliation, State Duma Deputy Alexander Khinshtein announced in July that Russian authorities would begin throttling YouTube speeds by as much as 70%, following the platform’s removal of pro-Kremlin channels.
Political Implications
Mikhail Klimaryov, the head of Internet Without Borders, a conference series and hackathon dedicated to combating Russian digital censorship and propaganda, posited that the government’s decision to ban Signal may be an attempt to curb the flow of information regarding the ongoing military actions in Russia’s southwestern Kursk region, where the Armed Forces of Ukraine have made significant advances. This development represents a considerable setback for the Kremlin, potentially jeopardizing its domestic propaganda narrative.
Klimaryov suggested that intelligence agencies may have flagged Signal as a communication tool used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, leading to the decision to disrupt communications on a national scale. He articulated this sentiment on his Telegram channel, indicating that the government’s actions are driven by a desire to control the narrative amidst challenging circumstances.