Russia Tightens Digital Comms Control with Discord Ban

Russia's communications regulator, the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media, has officially blocked the instant messaging app Discord for violating several Russian laws.

This decision followed the discovery of five violations under the regulations governing social networks.

The regulator cited Discord's failure to prevent the app's misuse for terrorism and extremist activities, as well as its allowance of unlawful content, including drug sales and recruitment of Russian citizens for illegal activities.

As a platform categorised under social networks, Discord was expected to proactively remove such content.

In addition to imposing restrictions, the regulator fined the messaging app approximately $36,150 for these infractions.

Last week, Roskomnadzor ordered Discord to remove nearly 1,000 items deemed illegal and has previously penalised the company for not eliminating banned content.

Telecoms watchdog Roskomnadzor said in a statement:

“[Access to Discord was being] restricted due to the violation of requirements of Russian legislation pertaining to preventing the use of messaging for terrorist and extremist purposes.”

Russia's Plan to Block Discord Started Since Late September

Since going on the offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, the Kremlin has intensified its control over the digital landscape, implementing bans on numerous Western websites and social networks.

This includes directing foreign technology platforms to eliminate content deemed illegal, accompanied by regular fines for non-compliance, though these fines are relatively modest.

Sources indicate that Russia's communications regulator had been preparing for the Discord ban since late September.

Recently, a Telegram channel confirmed reports from users in various cities experiencing difficulties accessing the app or receiving messages. https://t.me/paperpaper_ru/51794

Original Russian text on the left, English translated text on the right

This disruption is not new; complaints about Discord outages have surfaced since August.

According to data from Downdetector, users across 16 cities, including Yakutia, Kamchatka Territory, Sakhalin, Primorsky Krai, and Khabarovsk Krai, reported significant issues.

Among those who responded, 48% indicated that their mobile Discord app had crashed, while 24% reported general app failures.

Additional issues included site crashes (22%), account failures (2%), and alerts (1%).

Many users also noted problems with connectivity, login support, and loading times.

Notably, this recent downtime marks the fourth reported incident within the past two and a half months, with the first complaints emerging on 21 August, alongside failures in other apps such as Telegram, WhatsApp, and VKontakte.

Subsequent disruptions were reported on 18 and 26 September.

Discord Fined in 2023 for Failure to Remove Illegal Content

In July 2023, a Moscow court imposed a fine of six million rubles (approximately S$80,850) on US-based Discord for failing to remove content deemed "illegal," a decision that Roskomnadzor stated the company disregarded.

While Discord enjoys popularity among younger audiences, it remains far less prevalent than Telegram among the general public in Russia.

Despite a 1 October order requiring the removal of nearly 1,000 items, Roskomnadzor criticised Discord for non-compliance, claiming the platform is "actively used by criminals."

With the recent blocking of Discord in Russia, does this escalating crackdown indicate a broader trend towards increased control over digital communication, and what further actions might be anticipated?