Russia fully blocks WhatsApp, talks up state-backed alternative

U.S. messenger app WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms META.O, has been completely blocked in Russia for failing to comply with local law, the Kremlin said on Thursday, suggesting Russians turn to a state-backed “national messenger” instead.

“Due to Meta’s unwillingness to comply with Russian law, such a decision was indeed taken and implemented,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, proposing that Russians switch to MAX, Russia’s state-owned messenger.

“MAX is an accessible alternative, a developing messenger, a national messenger, and it is available on the market for citizens as an alternative,” said Peskov.

Critics say MAX is a surveillance tool. Russian authorities deny this.

The move against WhatsApp, Russia’s most popular messenger, is the culmination of six months of pressure on the U.S. company.

It reflects a wider push by the Russian authorities at a time of war to create and control a “sovereign” communications infrastructure in which foreign-owned tech companies submit to local laws or disappear.

Meta had already been designated as an extremist organisation inside Russia, and WhatsApp complained about what it said was an attempt to fully block its service.

“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 in a statement.

Some domain names associated with WhatsApp disappeared from Russia’s national register of domain names, meaning devices inside Russia stopped receiving its IP addresses from the app and could be accessed only by using a virtual private network (VPN).

Roskomnadzor, the state communications regulator, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

MIXED REACTION IN MOSCOW

Activists in Moscow briefly hung a bike lock on the doors of Roskomnadzor and put up a poster reading: “Give us an unregulated internet – Russia without Roskomnadzor.”

There was a mixed reaction in the snowy Russian capital, with some people unfazed and others angry.

“Frankly I see this as negative because it’s in part a violation of our constitutional rights because it’s limiting freedom of choice,” said a woman who gave her name as Anna.

Another, Elena, said she saw no problem as there were other messengers. A woman who gave her name as Alyona said she would try to use WhatsApp with a VPN for as long as possible before switching to MAX.

Russian authorities, who also block or restrict social media platforms such as Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, have been heavily pushing MAX.

Critics say MAX could be used to track users. The Russian authorities deny this and say MAX, which integrates various government-related services into it, is designed to simplify and improve citizens’ everyday lives.

Roskomnadzor began restricting WhatsApp and other messenger services in August, making it impossible to complete phone calls on them after accusing the foreign-owned platforms of failing to share information with law enforcement in fraud and terrorism cases.

It said in December it was taking new measures to gradually restrict the app, which is accused of continuing to violate Russian law and of being a platform used “to organise and carry out terrorist acts on the territory of the country, to recruit their perpetrators and to commit fraud and other crimes.”

Russian courts have fined WhatsApp for failing to delete banned content and the authorities have said the company needs a local representative office in Russia to be compliant.

Since December, many Russians have been able to use WhatsApp only in conjunction with a VPN and have switched to using rival messenger apps although some are under pressure from the authorities for the same reasons.