Russia Blocks Apple's FaceTime, Accuses Of Criminal Activities

FaceTime is blocked in Russia (photo: Doc. Apple)

JAKARTA Russia blocks FaceTime, an Apple video calling app available on iPhones to MacBooks. Through this blocking, Russia wants to limit access to foreign applications that are considered dangerous.

Russian authorities, as reported by CNA, claim that FaceTime is often used to carry out criminal activities. This is not the first blocking that Russia has done because the country has previously blocked a number of applications.

So far, Russia has restricted access to YouTube, WhatsApp, and Telegram. Critics suspect that this restriction was deliberately imposed by the Russian government to censor and tighten state control over its citizens' communications.

However, the local government does not agree with the criticism. According to Roskomnadzor, Russia's communications regulator, their restrictive measures are in accordance with applicable laws.

"According to law enforcement agencies, FaceTime is used to organize and launch terrorist attacks in the country, recruit perpetrators, as well as commit fraud and other crimes against Russian citizens," Roskomnadzor said, quoted on Friday, December 5.

Although the reason for the blocking has been disclosed, the supervisory agency does not include any supporting evidence to justify its allegations. Until now, Apple has not provided a response regarding FaceTime blocking.

Before the block was announced, Moscow residents stated that they had difficulty using FaceTime on December 4, 2025. They always experience connection failures even though their signal is fine. When they open the app, they will see the sign 'Users are not available'.