Russian censorship body confirms it has ‘partially blocked’ WhatsApp and Telegram

Russia’s media regulator Roskomnadzor has confirmed its “partial blocking” of the WhatsApp and Telegram messaging services following reports of both apps being unavailable in southern Russia, state news agency TASS reported on Wednesday.

According to Roskomnadzor, Telegram and WhatsApp have become “the main services used to scam and extort money, and to get Russian citizens involved in sabotage and terrorist activities”, while its owners ignored Russia’s demands to “take measures against criminals”.

In August, Roskomnadzor announced measures to “partially limit” calls being made via Telegram and WhatsApp, claiming that “almost all” fraud calls had moved to foreign-owned messengers, a claim disputed by independent reporters who said only 15% of cyberfraud in Russia was committed via messenger services.

That same month, the Russian government ordered state-backed messenger app MAX, touted as a Russian-developed alternative to WhatsApp and Telegram, to be pre-installed on all mobile phones and tablets sold in Russia, and integrated the messenger with online government services.

Over the past several days, residents of southern Russian cities, including Sochi and Rostov-on-Don, have reported difficulties accessing Telegram and WhatsApp without a virtual private network (VPN), raising concerns about the Kremlin’s further crackdown on encrypted communications.

Both WhatsApp and Telegram have a significant user base in Russia, with around 97 and 90 million users respectively in a country of 143 million people. This is likely part of the reason why the messaging apps have avoided mass blockings amid the widespread censorship campaign that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which led to major social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (now X) being blocked.