Russian censorship agency confirms restrictions to calls on Telegram and WhatsApp

Russia’s censorship agency Roskomnadzor has announced “measures to partially limit” calls being made via the Telegram and WhatsApp messenger services, state-affiliated news agency Interfax reported on Wednesday.

Roskomnadzor said the move was necessary “to counteract criminals”. In a press release, it said Telegram and WhatsApp had “become the main services used to deceive and extort money, and to get Russian citizens involved in sabotage and terrorist activities”.

“Repeated requests to the messengers’ owners to take countermeasures were ignored” Roskomnadzor said, adding that as a result of improvements on Russian telecom operators, almost all such calls had now moved to foreign-owned messengers that “refuse to ensure the safety of Russian users and society”.

The move comes amid reported disruptions to Telegram and WhatsApp earlier in the week, with users complaining of difficulties making telephone calls via the apps and widespread internet outages across Russia over the past several months.

In what appeared to be a propaganda campaign targeting the messengers, the Russian Federal Security Service claimed on Monday that Ukrainian secret services had recruited Russian pensioners via WhatsApp and Telegram to store improvised explosive devices which they were to “personally hand over” to Russian soldiers.

Independent Russian journalist Andrey Zakharov cast doubt on Roskomnadzor’s claims on Wednesday, citing a 2024 report by the Russian Central Bank that said only 15% of cyberfraud in Russia was committed via messenger services, and that a majority of people were defrauded via SMS messages and regular mobile calls.