Meta’s WhatsApp accuses Russia of blocking its service to force users to state ‘super-app’
WhatsApp and Telegram sound the alarm as the Kremlin chokes off Western apps to promote MAX, a state-backed rival modeled after China’s WeChat
US messenger app WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms, accused authorities in Russia on Thursday of trying to fully block its service to drive Russians to a state-owned app, which it alleged was used for surveillance.
“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,” the world’s most popular messaging service said in a statement.
“We continue to do everything we can to keep users connected.”
The announcement came after Russia removed the technical internet records that connect platforms such as WhatsApp, YouTube and Facebook to their underlying IP addresses from the national system, according to local media reports.
These records act like an address book for the internet, telling users’ devices where to find an app or website and, without them, the services cannot be reached from inside Russia other than through a virtual private network.
Russia previously restricted video and voice calls on WhatsApp in August, slowing down other functions that now work only via virtual private network (VPN).
In a video published by state news agency TASS on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there was a possibility of reaching an agreement if Meta entered into dialogue with the Russian authorities and complied with the law.