Russia has fully blocked WhatsApp over Meta’s alleged failure to comply with local laws, urging users to shift to the state-backed messaging app MAX. The move is part of Moscow’s push for a “sovereign” communications system amid wartime controls and tighter regulation of foreign tech firms.
Russia has fully blocked US-based messaging platform WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms, over what the Kremlin described as the company’s failure to comply with local laws. The move comes amid a broader push by Russian authorities to promote a state-backed “national messenger” called MAX.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the decision on Thursday, saying the government had implemented the block because of Meta’s non-compliance.
“Due to Meta’s unwillingness to comply with Russian law, such a decision was indeed made and implemented,” Peskov told reporters, urging citizens to switch to MAX.
“MAX is an accessible alternative, a developing messenger, a national messenger, and it is available on the market for citizens as an alternative,” he said.
Critics have described MAX as a surveillance tool, an allegation Russian authorities deny. Officials say the platform integrates various government-related services and aims to simplify citizens’ daily lives.
The move follows six months of mounting pressure on WhatsApp and reflects Moscow’s broader effort, particularly during wartime, to establish what it calls a “sovereign” communications infrastructure. Under this framework, foreign technology companies must comply with Russian laws or face removal from the market.
Meta Russia has already been designated as an extremist organisation. WhatsApp earlier complained that authorities were attempting to fully block its service.
“Today the Russian government attempted to fully block WhatsApp in an effort to drive people to a state-owned surveillance app,” the company said in a statement.
“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”.
Following the latest measures, some domain names associated with WhatsApp disappeared from Russia’s national register of domain names. As a result, devices inside Russia stopped receiving the app’s IP addresses, making access possible only through a virtual private network (VPN).
Roskomnadzor, Russia’s state communications regulator, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Authorities had already restricted WhatsApp and other messenger services in August, blocking users from completing phone calls on the platforms. Officials accused foreign-owned platforms of failing to share information with law enforcement in fraud and terrorism cases.
In December, Roskomnadzor said it was taking additional steps to gradually restrict WhatsApp. The regulator accused the app of continuing to violate Russian law and of being used “to organise and carry out terrorist acts on the territory of the country, to recruit their perpetrators and to commit fraud and other crimes.”
