Russia blocks Discord, a platform used by its own military : digital isolation intensifies🚫

Cliquez ici pour lire en français

Russia has blocked access to Discord, a messaging platform also used by its own military. This move, justified by accusations of spreading extremist content, further deepens the digital isolation of Russian citizens.

Growing digital isolation⚠️

Russia has added Discord to the list of blocked platforms in its territory, joining Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), which have been banned since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. The Russian regulator accuses Discord of spreading extremist content, including material related to child exploitation. The decision is reminiscent of Discord’s recent ban in Turkey, though in Turkey’s case, the ban was due to the platform’s refusal to share user data with the government.

A paradoxical block for the russian military ⁉️

The ban on Discord creates an awkward situation for the Russian military, which has been using the platform for internal communications due to a lack of secure national messaging systems. The reliance on a foreign app highlights Russia’s technological shortcomings in secure communication. This ban will force the military to quickly find an alternative, or risk its operational efficiency being compromised.

Discord and the growing isolation of russian internet users🔍

Discord acknowledged the access difficulties in Russia and Turkey, stating that investigations are ongoing. This decision significantly impacts Russian users, particularly online gamers and collaborative communities, with approximately 40 million users in the country. The ban is part of a broader Kremlin strategy to restrict access to the internet and foreign platforms, worsening Russia’s digital isolation, while VPNs, often used to bypass such restrictions, are also increasingly being targeted.

The block on Discord marks another step toward the fragmentation of the Russian internet, further limiting access to information for the population.