Russia confirms ban on WhatsApp, says it failed to abide by law

MOSCOW: Russia has blocked the popular messaging service WhatsApp over its failure to comply with local legislation, the Kremlin said Thursday (Feb 12), urging its 100 million Russian users to switch to a domestic alternative.

Moscow has for months been trying to shift Russian users onto Max, a domestic messaging service that lacks end-to-end encryption and that activists have called a potential tool for surveillance.

"As for the blocking of WhatsApp ... such a decision was indeed made and implemented," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Peskov said the decision was due to WhatsApp's "reluctance to comply with the norms and letter of Russian law".

"Max is an accessible alternative, a developing messenger, a national messenger. And it is an alternative available on the market for citizens," he said.

WhatsApp, owned by US social media giant Meta, said on Wednesday that it believed Russia was attempting to fully block the service in a bid to force users onto Max.

"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.

"We continue to do everything we can to keep users connected."

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.