Russia and Venezuela have blocked the encrypted messaging app Signal

Both Russia and Venezuela have blocked access to the encrypted messaging app Signal, .

Russian news service broke the news about the blocking of the Signal app in Russia. Russia’s communications infrastructure Roskomnadzor restricted the app due to “violations of Russian law requirements whose fulfillment is necessary to prevent the use of the messenger for terrorist and extremist purposes,” according to a Russian report.

A cybersecurity tracker said on Friday that Russia has restricted access to Signal to “many Internet providers.” NetBlocks also noted that the app “is always running with ‘avoid tracking’ enabled” in the Echo Signal settings for users who are blocked from their messages in both regions.

The blocking of Signal in Venezuela took place in the long shadow of the results of the disputed presidential election from the end of July. Electoral authorities in Venezuela declared President Nicolás Maduro the winner without publishing evidence of his victory, sparking protests from opponents and supporters of Maduro’s opponent, Edmundo González, according to .

Both states have been blocking access to some of the same social media apps as a way to silence dissent. earlier today for 10 days claiming that the company’s owner Elon Musk was inciting hatred and “violated” the rules of his social network. it also reported “the end of YouTube’s difficulties” in Russia on Thursday.