The Duma allowed WhatsApp to be blocked until the end of the year

Deputies believe that WhatsApp may be blocked by the end of the year

A complete blocking of the Telegram messenger is not expected in Russia, Andrei Svintsov, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, told TASS. “I believe that Telegram interacts quite effectively with the governments of most countries in the world, including Russia. Therefore, I think there is no need to worry about the fate of Telegram,” the deputy said.

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Anti-blocking condition

The head of the relevant State Duma committee, Sergei Boyarsky, previously noted that blocking Telegram is impossible until all significant channels are transferred to the national messenger Max. According to him, a sharp restriction of access would be unjustified from the point of view of the interests of the audience and content creators.

Previously, “Vorstka” talked about how Russians could not be transferred to the “national messenger” Max. Officials called the project a “failure.”

WhatsApp is under threat

At the same time, Svintsov previously admitted that WhatsApp could be completely blocked before the end of 2026. “I think that, indeed, by the end of the year Roskomnadzor will take a set of measures to completely block WhatsApp. <...> Such tough measures, especially in the pre-election year, are absolutely justified,” he said.

In 2025, Roskomnadzor already limited calls to WhatsApp and Telegram, explaining this as a fight against “extortion of money, involvement in sabotage and terrorist activities,” and later began a partial restriction of platforms to “counter criminals.”

“Vorstka” found out in early January that advertisements for the Max messenger began to be shown before the start of TV series on “pirate” sites. It is broadcast along with advertisements for sports betting.

Photo: State Duma of the Russian Federation, website of the United Russia party

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