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Russia has blocked US-based messaging app WhatsApp, the Kremlin announced on Thursday, claiming the Meta-owned company was not complying with local laws.
The move follows six months of pressure on WhatsApp and comes after Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram were banned in Russia in 2022 following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Due to Meta’s unwillingness to comply with Russian law, such a decision was indeed taken and implemented,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
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Russia blocked the American messaging app WhatsApp, saying the company did not comply with local laws. (REUTERS/Thomas White/File Photo / Reuters)
Peskov instead urged Russians to use MAX, the country’s state-owned messaging app.
“MAX is an accessible alternative, an evolving messenger, a national messenger, and is available as an alternative in the market for citizens,” he said.
WhatsApp, Russia’s most popular messenger app, said in a statement that the Russian government was “trying to completely block the app” in an attempt to drive people to a state surveillance app.
“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,” WhatsApp wrote on X. “We continue to do everything we can to keep users connected.”
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The Kremlin has announced it has blocked WhatsApp as Moscow continues its crackdown on foreign technology platforms. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images/Getty Images)
Critics have claimed that MAX is a surveillance tool, which Russian authorities have denied.
Russian authorities have pushed for a communications infrastructure in which foreign-owned tech companies comply with local laws or face bans.
Other platforms, including Snapchat and YouTube, have also been blocked or restricted by Russian authorities. Meta was previously classified as an extremist organization in Russia.
Roskomnadzor, Russia’s communications regulator, began restricting WhatsApp and other messenger services last August, according to Reuters, making it impossible to make phone calls on them.
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, recruit their perpetrators and commit fraud and other crimes.”
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Russia banned Meta-owned WhatsApp, urging citizens to use a state-run messaging alternative. (Photo by Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)
WhatsApp has also been fined by the Russian court for failing to remove banned content.
Reuters contributed to this report.
