Signal was blocked by Venezuela and Russia

The signal is being blocked in Venezuela and Russia. The app is a popular choice for encrypted messaging and for people trying to avoid government censorship, and the blocks appear to be part of a crackdown on internal dissent in both countries.

In Venezuela, the lockdown comes in the wake of the controversial results of the country’s presidential elections last month, which led to protests and arrests as President Nicolás Maduro clings to power, according to MSNBC. (The US recognized opposition candidate Edmundo González as the winner of the election.) Internet monitoring service NetBlocks said Thursday night that Signal had become “inaccessible on several internet providers” in the country. Maduro also ordered an X-shaped lockdown, The Associated Press reports.

In Russia, the country’s communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, claims that Signal violated Russian law, reports Interfax. People in Russia also cannot register a new Signal account without using a VPN, Reuters reports. Russia “restricted backends of Signal messaging apps on most internet providers” on Friday afternoon, NetBlocks says.

“We are aware of reports that access to Signal has been blocked in some countries,” Sign says. If you are affected by the blocks, the company recommends enabling the censorship evasion 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 also reported a mass outage of YouTube in the country, according to VOA News. “We are aware of reports that some people are unable to access YouTube in Russia,” said YouTube spokesperson Ciaran Ward. The edge. “This is not the result of any technical issues on our part or actions taken by us.”