Both Russia and Venezuela have blocked access to the encrypted messaging app Signal, The Verge reports.
The Russian news service Interfax broke the news about the block on the Signal app in Russia. Russia’s telecommunications watchdog Roskomnadzor restricted the app due to “violations of the requirements of the Russian legislation whose fulfillment is necessary to prevent the use of the messenger for terrorist and extremist purposes,” according to the Russian report.
The cybersecurity tracker NetBlocks confirmed on X on Friday that Russia has restricted access to Signal “on most internet providers.” NetBlocks also noted the app “remains usable with ‘censorship circumvention’ enabled” in Signal’s settings echoing a recommendation from the Signal’s X account to users who’ve been blocked from their messages in both regions .
The blocking of Signal in Venezuela occurred in the long shadow of the country’s disputed presidential election