Russia claimed yesterday that it was thinking about banning the popular messaging app WhatsApp because it didn’t stop crime, and it told its tens of millions of users to switch to apps made in Russia.
According to AFP, US tech firm Meta, which owns WhatsApp, stated that Russia was trying to ban the app because it “defies government attempts to violate people’s right to secure communication.”
In August, Russia stopped anyone from making calls on the site. This was part of a larger effort to crack down on Western-owned social media that opponents claim is meant to give the Kremlin more control over the internet.
Roskomnadzor, the Russian communications watchdog, said in a statement yesterday that it may “completely” prohibit the app if it didn’t follow Russian law.
It warned, “If the messenger doesn’t follow Russian law, it will be completely blocked,” and it told Russians to use “national services” instead.
WhatsApp and Telegram are the two most popular messaging apps in Russia.
Moscow wants both messengers to let law police access data when they ask for it, for fraud investigations and for looking into what Russia calls “terrorist” operations.
It has also pushed people to move to Max, a texting service from the US that doesn’t have end-to-end encryption and needs to be pre-installed on all new devices and tablets.
Rights groups are worried that the actions could be used for widespread monitoring and to go after anyone who speak out against President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine.
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