Russia Bans Discord for Failing to Comply with Regulatory Takedown Requests

Originally popular among gaming communities, Discord's user base has significantly expanded, offering features akin to groups and channels, thus positioning itself as both an instant messaging and social networking platform.

However, due to the presence of prohibited content and its failure to comply with regulatory demands, Russia has banned the platform starting this week, preventing Russian users from accessing Discord or obtaining information through it.

According to a press release from Russia's main regulatory body, RKN, Discord has violated Russian legal requirements, leading to restricted access to the platform. These laws aim to prevent the platform's use for terrorism and extremism, recruitment for such activities, drug trafficking, and the dissemination of illegal information.

RKN previously issued a directive to Discord, requesting the deletion of 947 accounts, channels, or groups associated with illegal content, which Discord outright ignored.

This refusal to comply with the takedown request is merely the tipping point, as tensions between Russia and Discord have been high since 2023. At that time, a Russian court fined Discord 6 million rubles for not deleting information as ordered – a fine Discord neither paid nor complied with the court's demands.

Given these circumstances, Discord's ban in Russia seemed inevitable. Discord was aware of the impending ban and thus saw no reason to comply with the takedown requests or pay the fines.

Russian ISPs have now blacklisted Discord's communication domains and IP addresses to block access, leaving Russian users to rely on VPNs or third-party proxy services to continue using Discord.

Moreover, Russia has already banned platforms like X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and restricted YouTube's network access. In 2022, Russia briefly banned the gaming platform Steam, only to lift the ban shortly after.