Meta Platforms owned messenger app WhatsApp has been completely blocked in Russia for failing to comply with local law, the Kremlin said, suggesting Russians turn to a state-backed "national messenger" instead. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has proposed that Russians switch to MAX, Russia's state-owned messenger.
"Due to Meta's unwillingness to comply with Russian law, such a decision was indeed taken and implemented," Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"MAX is an accessible alternative, a developing messenger, a national messenger, and it is available on the market for citizens as an alternative," said Peskov.
While critics say MAX to be a surveillance tool, Russian authorities have repeatedly denied this. The move against WhatsApp, Russia's most popular messenger, is the culmination of six months of pressure on the U.S. company.
The ban reflects a wider push by the Russian authorities at a time of war to create and control a "sovereign" communications infrastructure in which foreign-owned tech companies submit to local laws or disappear.
Meta had already been designated as an extremist organisation inside Russia, and WhatsApp complained about what it said was an attempt to fully block its service.
"Trying to isolate over 100 million users from private and secure communication is a backwards step and can only lead to less safety for people in Russia," it said in a statement.
See What’s Next in Tech With the Fast Forward Newsletter
Tweets From @varindiamag
Nothing to see here - yet
When they Tweet, their Tweets will show up here.
