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Russia restricts calls with the foreign messenger services WhatsApp and Telegram to allegedly ward off terrorists and fraudsters.
In a statement in Moscow, the Russian telecommunications authority Roskomnadzor spoke of restrictions on voice calls. However, users in Russia reported on Downdetector, a website that tracks service disruptions, that video calls were also affected.
Other WhatsApp and Telegram functions were not impacted, Roskomnadzor announced. However, their telephone services were being used to “defraud Russian citizens, extort money, involve them in sabotage or terrorist activities,” the authority stated. Fraudsters are not the only ones active on these messengers – Ukrainian secret services also use them to make contact within Russia.
Ministry: Messenger services should comply with Russian laws
The restrictions would be lifted if the foreign messenger services complied with Russian laws, the digital ministry in Moscow announced.
Like Facebook and Instagram, WhatsApp belongs to Mark Zuckerberg’s US group Meta and refuses to share data with Russian authorities. Telegram was developed by Russian entrepreneur Pavel Durov. Telegram faces accusations both in Russia and in other countries that the service takes insufficient action against criminal users.
Since the start of the war of aggression against Ukraine in 2022, Moscow has continued to expand its control over the Russian internet. Foreign messenger services are to be replaced by a domestic app called Max, though critics fear this will give authorities access to user data.
dpa
