Russian authorities may soon block the popular messaging platform Discord, the Kommersant business daily reported Friday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Discord, which allows users to communicate in virtual communities known as “servers,” is widely used by gamers, students and cryptocurrency traders. It reportedly has between 29 and 40 million active users in Russia.
Kommersant discovered that Russian state media regulator Roskomnadzor issued five rulings concerning Discord's operations this month, which could serve as grounds for blocking the platform.
An anonymous source cited by the newspaper said authorities are considering banning Discord for allegedly breaking Russian law, though the specific violations were not detailed.
Gaming industry insiders told Kommersant that companies are aware of Discord being under scrutiny and are preparing for the possibility that it may be slowed down, similar to recent government actions against YouTube.
Earlier this month, users in Russia reported widespread outages on Discord.
Vasily Ovchinnikov, head of the Video Game Industry Development Organization, told Kommersant that users would likely need to find alternatives. While there are no direct Russian equivalents at the moment, he expects domestic clones or Chinese alternatives to emerge.
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