Russia has blocked the popular messaging service WhatsApp over its failure to comply with local legislation, the Kremlin confirmed on Thursday, February 12, urging its 100 million Russian users to switch to a domestic alternative.
For months, Moscow has been trying to shift Russian users onto Max, a domestic messaging service that lacks end-to-end encryption and that activists have called a potential tool for surveillance. It has threatened a host of internet platforms with forced slowdowns or outright bans if they do not comply with Russian laws, including those requiring data on Russian users to be stored inside the country.
“As for the blocking of WhatsApp (…) such a decision was indeed made and implemented,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Peskov said the decision was due to WhatsApp’s “reluctance to comply with the norms and letter of Russian law.” “Max is an accessible alternative, a developing messenger, a national messenger. And it is an alternative available on the market for citizens,” he said.
‘A backwards step’
WhatsApp, which is owned by US social media giant Meta, said, on Wednesday, that it believed Russia was attempting to fully block the service in a bid to force users onto Max. “Today the Russian government attempted to fully block WhatsApp in an effort to drive people to a state-owned surveillance app,” WhatsApp posted on X.
“Trying to isolate over 100 million users from private and secure communication is a backwards step and can only lead to less safety for people in Russia,” WhatsApp said. “We continue to do everything we can to keep users connected,” it added.
Critics and rights campaigners say the Russian restrictions are a transparent attempt by the Kremlin to ramp up control and surveillance over internet use in Russia, amid a sweeping crackdown on dissent during the Ukraine offensive.
The latest developments came after Russia’s internet watchdog said, on Tuesday, that it would slap “phased restrictions” on the Telegram messaging platform, which it said had not complied with the local laws.
