Signal, a widely-used encrypted messaging app, has been blocked in Venezuela and Russia, where it is often used by those seeking to evade government censorship. These blocks appear to be part of broader efforts to suppress internal dissent in both nations.

In Venezuela, the blockage comes on the heels of last month’s contested presidential election, which has sparked protests and arrests as President Nicolás Maduro struggles to maintain power. The U.S. has recognized opposition leader Edmundo González as the legitimate winner of the election. According to MSNBC, internet monitoring service NetBlocks reported on Thursday evening that Signal was "unreachable on multiple internet providers" in Venezuela. Additionally, Maduro has also ordered a block on the social media platform X, as reported by The Associated Press.

In Russia, the communications regulator Roskomnadzor claims that Signal has violated Russian laws. As of Friday afternoon, NetBlocks stated that the Russian government has "restricted Signal messaging app backends on most internet providers." Moreover, new Signal accounts cannot be registered in Russia without the use of a VPN, according to Reuters.

In response to these blocks, Signal has acknowledged the situation, advising affected users to activate its censorship circumvention feature, which NetBlocks reports has allowed Signal to "remain usable" in Russia. However, Signal has yet to respond to requests for further comment.

Meanwhile, Russian users have also experienced a widespread outage of YouTube, according to VOA News. A YouTube spokesperson confirmed the issue but emphasized that it was not caused by any technical problems on their end or actions taken by the company.