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Russia has blocked the US-based messaging app WhatsApp, the Kremlin announced on Thursday Target owned company has not complied with local laws.
The move follows six months of pressure on WhatsApp and comes after Facebook and Instagram, owned by Meta, were banned in Russia in 2022 after Moscow. invasion of Ukraine.
“Due to Meta’s unwillingness to comply with Russian law, this decision was made and implemented,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
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Russia has blocked US-based messaging app WhatsApp, citing the company’s non-compliance with local laws. (REUTERS/Thomas White/File photo/Reuters)
Peskov urged Russians to use the country’s state-owned MAX messaging app.
“MAX is an accessible alternative, a messenger in development, a national messenger, and it’s available in the market for citizens as an alternative,” he said.
WhatsApp, Russia’s most popular messaging app, said in a statement that the Russian government “attempted to completely block” the app “in an effort to drive people to a state-owned surveillance app.”
“Trying to isolate more than 100 million users from private and secure communication is a step backwards and can only lead to less security for the people of Russia,” WhatsApp posted on X. “We continue to do everything we can to keep users connected.”
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The Kremlin announced it blocked WhatsApp as Moscow continues its crackdown on foreign tech platforms. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images/Getty Images)
Critics have claimed MAX is a surveillance tool, which Russian authorities have denied.
Russian authorities have pushed for a communications infrastructure in which foreign ownership technology companies comply with local laws or deal with prohibitions.
Other platforms, such as Snapchat and YouTube, have also been blocked or restricted by Russian authorities. Meta was previously designated as an extremist organization in Russia.
Roskomnadzor, Russia’s communications regulator, began restricting WhatsApp and other messaging services last August, according to Reuters, making it impossible to complete phone calls.
In December, Roskomnadzor accused WhatsApp of violating Russian law and being a platform used “to organize and carry out terrorist acts on the territory of the country, to recruit their perpetrators and to commit fraud and other crimes.”
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Russia banned Meta-owned WhatsApp and urged citizens to use a state messaging alternative. (Photo by Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)
WhatsApp has also been fined in Russian courts for failing to remove banned content.
Reuters contributed to this report.
