People visit the Red Square in front of St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow.
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The Kremlin on Thursday confirmed it has blocked Meta‘s WhatsApp messaging service and said Russians should use a new state-backed platform called Max instead.
“Max is an accessible alternative, a developing messenger, a national messenger. And it is available on the market for citizens,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Thursday, news agency Ria Novosti reported.
WhatsApp issued a statement earlier in the day saying Russia had attempted to “fully block” its messaging service in the country in order to force people toward Max, which it described as a “surveillance app.”
“Today the Russian government attempted to fully block WhatsApp in an effort to drive people to a state-owned surveillance app,” WhatsApp posted on social media platform 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,” it said, adding: “We continue to do everything we can to keep users connected.”
Russia’s latest move against social media platforms and messaging services like WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram comes amid a wider attempt to drive users toward domestic and more easily controlled and monitored services, such as Max.
Russia’s telecoms watchdog, Roskomnadzor, has accused messaging apps lTelegram and WhatsApp of failing to comply with Russian legislation requiring companies to store Russian users’ data inside the country, and of failing to introduce measures to stop their platforms from being used for allegedly criminal or terrorist purposes.
It has used this as a basis for slowing down, or blocking, their operations with restrictions coming into force since last year.
Critics say the overarching aim of Russia’s strategy is to restrict freedom of expression and privacy and to monitor and control the narrative around the war against Ukraine, and to surveil the public for any criticism of the government and Russian armed forces. CNBC has contacted the Kremlin for further comment and is waiting for a response.
Telegram, founded by Russian developers but headquartered in Dubai, has been a principle target for Roskomnadzor’s scrutiny and increasing restrictions, with users reporting sluggish performance on the app since January, the Moscow Times noted this week. Last August, the telecoms watchdog partially restricted calls on Telegram and WhatsApp.
Roskomnadzor — formally known as the Federal Service for the Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media — on Wednesday accused Telegram of failing to prevent illicit activity on the app, failing to protect users’ data and of violating Russian laws.
“In this regard, by decision of the authorized bodies, Roskomnadzor will continue to introduce successive restrictions in order to ensure compliance with Russian legislation and ensure the protection of citizens,” it said in a statement reported by the RBC news outlet.
Kremlin spokesman Peskov said Wednesday that Roskomnadzor’s decision to slow down Telegram’s operations was “due to the fact that the company isn’t complying with the requirements of Russian legislation.”
“It’s a shame the company isn’t complying, but there’s a law that must be followed,” Peskov told state news agency TASS.
Russia’s telecom watchdog said Wednesday that it was open to working with any domestic and foreign internet resource as long as it respects Russian law and its citizens.
