Russia Blocks the Signal App for Allegedly Infringing Local Anti-Terror Laws

• The Russian Federation decided to block the popular Signal Messenger app.
• The Kremlin reportedly believes Signal is being used by terrorists and extremists.
• Some think the ban aims to cripple the Armed Forces of Ukraine communications.

The Signal Messenger app was blocked in the Russian Federation on Friday, the press service of Roskomnadzor reported to the TASS news agency. The officials said the app failed to fulfill the requirements necessary “to prevent the use of the messenger for terrorist and extremist purposes.” 

The monitoring agency Sboy.RF received over 2,000 glitching complaints from users across Russia who reported issues sending and receiving messages via the app.

Signal announced it is aware that the app has been blocked in some countries and reminds users to enable the built-in censorship circumvention feature (Signal Settings > Privacy > Advanced > Censorship circumvention).

A theory suggested the government’s decision to ban Signal could aim to stop communication about the Armed Forces of Ukraine’s (AFU) ongoing incursion into Russia’s southwestern Kursk region, as it may undermine the Kremlin’s domestic propaganda narrative, the Novaya Gazeta Europe reported.

The idea comes from Mikhail Klimaryov, the head of Internet Without Borders, who believes that the information about the AFU communicating via Signal reached intelligence agencies. He suggests these agencies then blocked the app nationwide in an attempt to “disrupt communications between enemy units.”

'Internet Without Borders' is a conference series and hackathon focused on combating Russian digital censorship and propaganda.

Just one day before the news of the Signal ban arrived, thousands of Russian users reported being unable to access YouTube. Access to YouTube has been disrupted for more than one month now, and Russia allegedly plans to block YouTube entirely by September.

Also, the latest news on Russia’s efforts to fight against VPN providers said authorities plan to add new bans, as creating and installing VPN services could soon be made illegal.