As part of its continued attempts to reduce local reliance on foreign tech platforms, Russia has begun restricting calls on both WhatsApp and Telegram, in an effort, Russian authorities claim, to combat criminal activity.
Russian leaders claim that people are engaging in illegal behaviors in these apps, which are outside of the scope of what can be enforced by local police. As such, it’s looking to reduce their usage in the nation.
As per Russia’s communications regulator:
"We inform you that in order to combat criminals, in accordance with the materials of law enforcement agencies, measures are being taken to partially restrict calls in these foreign messengers. No other restrictions on their functionality are being introduced."
Russian authorities claim that Telegram and WhatsApp have become the main services “through which Russians are deceived and extorted money from,” and that owners of these messaging apps have ignored "repeated demands to take countermeasures."
The broader scope here is that Russia is also developing its own messaging platform, which will essentially replicate these apps, but will be overseen by Russian authorities and will remain accessible to local law enforcement groups.
Back in June, Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized the development of its own, state-backed messaging app, which will be integrated with government services and will provide a more functional service to locals.
The restriction of WhatsApp and Telegram, the current messaging leaders in the nation, will push more people towards Russia’s own option, which will expand on the nation’s effort to separate itself from reliance on foreign-owned systems.
As reported by Reuters:
“Russia has clashed with foreign tech platforms for several years over content and data storage in a simmering dispute that intensified after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with critics saying that Russia is trying to expand its control over the country's internet space.”
The latest shift towards “digital sovereignty” is another effort to effectively maintain control over local communications, and ensure that Russian authorities are able to police illegal activity, while also better controlling the flow of information.
Russia’s not the only nation to question the security of such apps, with U.K. leaders also raising significant concerns about the shift to encrypted messaging, which effectively eliminates police enforcement of any activity facilitated within such services.
So it’s not a Russia-specific concern, but Russia is the only nation making such a significant push to force users out of these apps.
In response, WhatsApp has released the following:
“WhatsApp is private, end-to-end encrypted, and defies government attempts to violate people’s right to secure communication, which is why Russia is trying to block it from over 100 million Russian people. We will keep doing all we can to make end-to-end encrypted communication available to people everywhere, including in Russia.”
I’m not sure that’s going to ingratiate WhatsApp with Russian authorities, but no doubt Meta will keep the pressure on, in an effort to maintain connection in the region.
