Russia blocks Signal messaging app as authorities tighten control over information

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s state communications watchdog said Friday it has blocked access to the Signal messaging app, the latest move in the authorities’ efforts to tighten controls over information amid the fighting in Ukraine.

The agency, Roskomnadzor, said it made the decision because of Signal’s “violation of the requirements of Russian legislation which must be observed to prevent the messenger’s use for terrorist and extremist purposes.”

Signal uses end-to-end encryption, making it difficult for the Russian government to intercept communications.

Russian authorities expanded their crackdown on dissent and free media after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. They have blocked multiple independent Russian-language media outlets critical of the Kremlin, and cut access to Twitter, which later became X, as well as Meta’s Facebook and Instagram.

In the latest blow to the freedom of information, YouTube faced mass outages on Thursday following repeated slowdowns in recent weeks.

Russian authorities have blamed the slowdowns on Google’s failure to upgrade its equipment in Russia, but many experts have challenged the claim, arguing that the likely reason for the slowdowns and the latest outage was the Kremlin’s desire to shut public access to a major platform that carries opposition views.