Russia has ordered the app to be blocked starting today WhatsAppThe application is used by over 100 million users in Russia and is among the most widely used communication tools in the country. WhatsApp as Facebook or Instagram are under the control of Meta, which, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, is unwilling to abide by the norms and letter of Russian law, which led to today's decision to order the blocking of the application.
Peskov literally stated: “WhatsApp will be able to resume operations if Meta complies with the law and is willing to engage in dialogue with the Russian government.” There has also been speculation that Russia is trying to not only damage Meta with this move, but especially to force users to switch to the state-developed application Max, which, according to Peskov, is an available alternative. In addition to WhatsApp This week, the Roskomnadzor censorship agency restricted the functionality of the Telegram network, for the same reason as in the case of the platform WhatsApp.
Russia justifies blocking services by saying that companies refuse to store Russian users' data on the territory of the country, as required by Russian law, and instead the data is stored in data centers around the world, mainly in the US. In the case of WhatsApp The Russians also say that it is widely used for fraud and theft. Meta has already issued a short statement, stating: "The attempt to isolate over 100 million users from private and secure communication is a step backwards and may lead to a decrease in the security of local residents."
