MOSCOW, Russia — Russia announced Friday that it is considering a complete ban on the popular messaging service WhatsApp, accusing the application of failing to comply with national laws aimed at preventing crime and investigating security threats.
The move is the latest in a broad campaign by Moscow to tighten control over Western-owned digital communication platforms.
The Russian communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, issued a statement urging the service’s tens of millions of users to migrate to domestic alternatives.
“If the messenger fails to comply with Russian legislation, it will be completely blocked,” Roskomnadzor said in the statement, specifically encouraging Russians to switch to “national services.”
Meta cites security and privacy
US technology giant Meta, which owns WhatsApp, pushed back against the threat, asserting that Russia’s actions are motivated by a desire to access private communications.
Meta stated that Russia was trying to ban the application because it “defies government attempts to violate people’s right to secure communication.”
The current threat follows a previous restriction in August when Russia blocked users from making calls on the platform. WhatsApp is one of Russia’s two most popular messaging services, alongside Telegram.
Surveillance fears and domestic alternatives
Moscow requires both major messaging services to provide law enforcement access to user data upon request, primarily for investigating fraud and activities categorized by Russia as “terrorist.”
In parallel with the ban threat, the Kremlin has promoted Max, a domestic messaging service that notably lacks end-to-end encryption.
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The government has mandated that Max be pre-installed on all new smartphones and tablets sold in the country.
Rights advocates and critics of President Vladimir Putin fear that these moves are not solely focused on fighting crime.
They argue the measures could be exploited for mass surveillance and used to target domestic critics of the government and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
