Russia has millions of internet users. But if you want them to use your search engine, network on your social media platform, or use your messenger to share their favorite memes, then Russia wants you to know one thing: You have to play by its data-sharing rules.

Tinder is the most recent platform to get the message. Last week, the Russian communications censor Roskomnadzor added the popular dating site to a list of 175 companies that it says have agreed to store user data and messages in Russia and to share that data with Russian government and intelligence agencies.

Apple is not on the list, but reportedly already stores some of its data in the country. Other non-Russian companies on the list include video-sharing site Vimeo and China’s WeChat. Other apps like Snap and Telegram say they were placed on the list without their knowledge and without signing any kind of agreement. Natalia Krapiva, legal counsel at digital rights group Access Now, says the Russian government chose Tinder to send a message: “This is a way to show bigger companies to comply.”

In April, Russia fined Facebook and Twitter 3,000 rubles each (a whopping $46) after they refused requests to store data on Russian servers. While the fines are laughably low right now, there are reports that Russia is threatening to raise them significantly, charging as much as 1 percent of a company’s annual revenue in Russia for an infraction. That’s no joke for a company like Tinder, which, according to the analytics firm App Annie, is the seventh-highest-grossing app for iPhone users in Russia.

Krapiva speculates that Russia is enforcing its data-sharing policies by exerting pressure on smaller companies that are easier targets—and will feel the impact more acutely—than behemoths like Twitter and Facebook.

Unlike China’s Great Firewall, Russia doesn’t yet have a foolproof way to block online services. Russia tried to block Telegram in 2018 after the encrypted messaging service refused to turn over user data. But it wasn’t able to block Telegram without blocking access to many other, unrelated websites. After more than a year, the government still hasn’t found an effective way to keep Russians from using the service. But Suzanne Spaulding, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies warns, those holes won’t last. “Over time Russia is going to get better at this,” she says.

The Tinder request is part of a string of restrictive actions the Russia government has taken in recent years to control who uses the internet and how. Most recently, Russia moved to bolster its firewall. Last week, Roskomnadzor told VPN services that they will be blocked if they give users access to websites that have been banned. In May, it passed a law that would allow Russia to build its own internet and disconnect from the rest of the world. In March, the Russian Parliament adopted rules that allow the government to imprison anyone who spreads disinformation or insults a politician online. Russia is part of a growing trend on countries that are exercising more control over the internet. India’s government proposed new rules in February that would allow the country to control content on Twitter, Google, Facebook, and other sites. Both Sri Lanka and Sudan have shut off access to social media platforms this year.

In the crowded and competitive world of social media apps, any kind of blocking—even if it isn’t 100 percent successful—could still impact Tinder’s success in Russia. “Whether you've been blocked by the government, or just having a bad day with connectivity—most of your customers don't care,” says Danny O’Brien, an open internet advocate at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, “They'll just move to a service that is available all the time.” He says that Telegram has been able to survive because it already had a base of devoted users in Russia who looked for ways to avoid the government ban. Less popular sites might not weather those disruptions as well.

“This is a way to show bigger companies to comply.” Natalia Krapiva, Access Now

Tinder has been tight-lipped about its agreement. “We received a request to register with the Russian authorities, and, as of now, we have registered to be compliant,” says a Tinder spokesperson, parrying questions about what kind of data might be shared and which users would be exposed. “However, this registration in no way shares any user or personal data with any Russian regulatory bodies and we have not handed over any data to their government.”