Russia restricts WhatsApp Telegram
Moscow (dpa) — Russia is restricting calls via the foreign messaging services WhatsApp and Telegram, allegedly to defend against terrorists and fraudsters.
The Russian telecommunications authority Roskomnadzor stated in Moscow on Wednesday that there were restrictions on voice calls. However, users in Russia reported on the disruption website Downdetector that video calls were also affected.
Other functions of WhatsApp and Telegram are not impacted, Roskomnadzor said. However, their telephone services are reportedly used to “defraud Russian citizens, extort money, and involve them in sabotage or terrorist activities,” it said.
In fact, not only are con artists active on the messenging services, but Ukrainian intelligence services also use them to make contact in Russia, it said.
The restrictions would be lifted if the foreign messaging services complied with Russian laws, according to the Digital Ministry in Moscow was quoted by the state-run news agency as saying.
Like Facebook or Instagram, WhatsApp is part of the US corporation Meta, which is owned by Mark Zuckerberg, and refuses to share data with the Russian authorities.
Telegram was developed by the Russian Pavel Durov. Telegram faces accusations in Russia, as well as in other countries, of not doing enough against criminal users.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the leadership in Moscow has been increasingly expanding control over the Russian part of the internet.
Foreign messaging services are to be replaced by a domestic app called Max, which critics fear may allow authorities access to the data.
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