Russia blocks WhatsApp and talks up state alternative
The Kremlin said US messaging app WhatsApp was completely blocked in Russia because it did not comply with local laws, and suggested Russians turn to a state-backed “national messaging app” instead.
“Such a decision was indeed made and implemented due to Meta’s unwillingness to comply with Russian law,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday. he said, and suggested that Russians switch to MAX, Russia’s state-owned messenger.
“MAX is available on the market as an accessible alternative, an emerging messenger, a national messenger and an alternative for citizens,” Peskov said. he said.
Critics say the MAX is a surveillance vehicle, but officials deny this.
The move against Meta-owned WhatsApp is the culmination of a six-month pressure on the US company and reflects a broader wartime push by Russian authorities to create and control an “independent” communications infrastructure in which foreign-owned tech companies would submit to local laws or disappear.
Meta Russia has already been identified as an extremist organisation, and WhatsApp has complained about what it says is an attempt to block its service altogether.
“Today, the Russian government attempted to completely block WhatsApp in an attempt to direct people to a state-owned surveillance app,” the statement said. The statement was included.
“Trying to isolate more than 100 million users from private and secure communications is a step backwards and can only lead to less security for people in Russia.”
Russian authorities, which also block or restrict social media platforms such as Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, are cracking down heavily on MAX, which critics say could be used to track users.
Officials have dismissed these accusations as unfounded and said MAX, which integrates a variety of government-related services into itself, is designed to simplify and improve citizens’ daily lives.
State communications regulator Roskomnadzor first began restricting WhatsApp and other messaging services in August, making it impossible to complete phone calls on those services after accusing the foreign-owned platforms of failing to share information with law enforcement in fraud and terrorism cases.
In December, it said it was taking new measures to gradually restrict the app, which it accused of continuing to violate Russian law and being a platform used “to organize and carry out terrorist acts on the country’s territory, to recruit their perpetrators, to commit fraud and other crimes.”
Russian courts have repeatedly fined WhatsApp for failing to delete banned content, and authorities have insisted the company needs a local representative office in Russia to be compliant, something the company does not have.
