Encrypted messaging service to join blacklist including Facebook and Instagram
Life
Image: WhatsApp
The Russian government is preparing to block WhatsApp. Anton Gorelkin, deputy chairman of the Duma Committee on Information Policy, warned via Telegram: “It’s time for WhatsApp to prepare to leave the Russian market.”
Gorelkin said the service will likely be added to the list of software from unfriendly countries, which will bring restrictions.
President Putin previously ordered the development of proposals to further restrict the use of Western software. According to him, software from Western tech companies that have left Russia has long been under fire, and in May he specifically called for a scaling back of their services.
In 2021, the Russian government created a blacklist of so-called unfriendly states, starting with countries like the US and the Czech Republic. After the start of the war in Ukraine, this list was expanded to include several EU countries.
In June, the Duma approved legislation for the development of a Russian messaging app, such as the app Max, in which government services can be integrated. Max is currently in beta and already has as many as 2 million users.
Since the start of the war, the Internet in Russia has been increasingly censored. A new bill is being introduced that will impose heavy fines for searching so-called ‘extremist content’, which also affects services like Meta, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Many websites have already been blocked, as well as virtual private network services.
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