Anika Begay
Signal is blocked in Venezuela and Russia. The app is a popular choice for encrypted messaging and for people looking to avoid government censorship, and the blocks appear to be part of a crackdown on domestic dissent in both countries.
In Venezuela, the blockade follows the disputed results of last month’s presidential election, which led to protests and arrests as President Nicolás Maduro clings to power, according to MSNBC. (The United States has recognized opposition candidate Edmundo González as the winner of the election.) Internet monitoring service NetBlocks said Thursday evening that Signal had become “unreachable on multiple Internet providers” in the country. Maduro has also ordered a block on X, The Associated Press reports.
In Russia, the country’s communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, says Signal violated Russian law, it reports. Interfax. Even in Russia people cannot register a new Signal account without using a VPN, News reports. Russia has “restricted the backends of the Signal messaging app on most ISPs” as of Friday afternoon, NetBlocks says.
“We are aware of reports that access to Signal has been blocked in some countries,” Signal says. If you are affected by the blocks, the company recommends enabling its censorship circumvention feature. (NetBlocks reports that this feature allows Signal to “remain usable” in Russia.) Signal did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Users in Russia have also reported a mass YouTube outage in the country, according to VOA News. “We are aware of reports of some people being unable to access YouTube in Russia,” YouTube spokesperson Ciaran Ward said. The limit“This is not due to any technical issues on our part or any actions we have taken.”
