The Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media has blocked the Discord app for violating Russian laws. The decision was made after identifying five violations related to social network content management.
Reasons for the Block
According to the Russian regulator, Discord failed to prevent its use for terrorism and extremism. The messaging app was also accused of allowing the posting of unlawful information, facilitating drug sales, and recruiting Russian citizens for illegal acts. The regulator emphasized that as a social network, Discord should have removed any unlawful content by itself. The messaging service has been fined approximately $36,150 for the violations, in addition to the restrictions imposed.
Access Issues with Discord
Sources allegedly disclosed that Russia’s communications regulator had been planning the block since late September. A Telegram page confirmed that users across different cities experienced access issues over the past 24 hours. According to the Discord Downdetector service, downtimes were spread across 16 cities, including Yakutia, Kamchatka Territory, Sakhalin, Primorsky Krai, and Khabarovsk Krai. 48% of respondents reported their mobile Discord app crashed, 24% cited general failures, while others reported site crashes, account issues, and app alerts. This marks the fourth recorded app failure in the past two and a half months, with previous incidents reported in August and September.
Other Restrictions in Russia
In March 2022, a District Court in Moscow ruled Meta as supporting extremism, leading to restrictions on Instagram and Facebook in the country. WhatsApp remained the only operational Meta app in Russia as it was not categorized as a social network. The decision was driven by threats made against the presidents of Russia and Belarus, and calls for violence against Russian military forces on Meta platforms. In 2022, Twitter's activities were also restricted in Russia, as confirmed by a BBC reporter following attempted tweets. The platform, known as X, restricted visibility for over 300 Russian officials, including President Putin.
The blocking of Discord is part of a larger trend towards restricting access to foreign social networks and apps in Russia. This stems from ongoing tensions between international IT companies and Russian authorities over online content control.
