{"id":65117,"date":"2026-02-12T17:22:48","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T17:22:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/russia-blocks-whatsapp-as-it-pushes-state-backed-alternative-on-citizens\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T17:22:48","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T17:22:48","slug":"russia-blocks-whatsapp-as-it-pushes-state-backed-alternative-on-citizens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/russia-blocks-whatsapp-as-it-pushes-state-backed-alternative-on-citizens\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia blocks WhatsApp as it pushes state-backed alternative on citizens"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>Russian authorities have taken new measures to ensure they can monitor all communications by people inside the country, officially blocking access to the popular, Meta-owned messaging app WhatsApp.<\/p>\n<p>WhatsApp said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WhatsApp\/status\/2021749165835829485?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">statement<\/a> shared Thursday on social media that Russia had &#8220;attempted to fully block WhatsApp in an effort to drive people to a state-owned surveillance app,&#8221; calling it an attempt to isolate &#8220;over 100 million users from private and secure communication.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>WhatsApp called it a &#8220;backwards step&#8221; that would lead to &#8220;less safety for people in Russia.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"embed embed--type-image is-image embed--float-none embed--size-medium\">\n<p>      <span class=\"img embed__content\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/02\/12\/587f148d-ceaf-4d55-b9ed-166a08120403\/thumbnail\/620x413\/2d84ee4fa614c5114efc153d7c41b16c\/russia-whatsapp-social-media-phones-2260707000.jpg#\" alt=\"RUSSIA-US-INTERNET-RESTRICTION-WHATSAPP \" height=\"413\" width=\"620\" class=\" lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/02\/12\/587f148d-ceaf-4d55-b9ed-166a08120403\/thumbnail\/620x413\/2d84ee4fa614c5114efc153d7c41b16c\/russia-whatsapp-social-media-phones-2260707000.jpg 1x, https:\/\/assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/02\/12\/587f148d-ceaf-4d55-b9ed-166a08120403\/thumbnail\/1240x826\/079c363b312f6cdb0b25642bf974ad27\/russia-whatsapp-social-media-phones-2260707000.jpg 2x\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/span><figcaption class=\"embed__caption-container\">\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__caption\">People look at their phones while riding an escalator in the Moscow metro, Feb. 12, 2026, as Russian officials confirmed the popular messaging service WhatsApp had been blocked over a failure to comply with national laws.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                Hector RETAMAL\/AFP\/Getty<\/p>\n<p>                          <\/span><br \/>\n              <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Speaking to reporters Thursday in Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed &#8220;a decision was indeed made and implemented&#8221; in response to a question on the WhatsApp ban.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He said the decision was taken due to WhatsApp&#8217;s unwillingness &#8220;to comply with the norms and letter of Russian law.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The ban appears to stem from Russian legislation that requires all companies listed on a register of online information disseminators to store both personal user details and data on all electronic messages exchanged within Russia, and to make that information available to government agencies.<\/p>\n<p>Roskomnadzor, the Russian federal agency responsible for monitoring \u2014 and censoring \u2014   mass media in the country,<strong> <\/strong>added WhatsApp to that register in late 2024. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>WhatsApp said in its statement that it would &#8220;do everything we can to keep users connected.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>CBS News found on Thursday that while WhatsApp was blocked for users inside Russia, it was still possible to use the app via a virtual private network (VPN), which is not illegal in the country, despite the Kremlin&#8217;s ban.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier in the week, another popular messaging app, Telegram, also faced new restrictions in Russia in a move highly criticized by many citizens. According to Roskomnadzor, which, like all Russian government agencies, uses the platform itself to distribute official announcements, Telegram failed to protect users&#8217; personal data.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Telegram founder Pavel Durov, a Russian national who lives in exile in Dubai and who faces <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/telegram-ceo-pavel-durov-france-preliminary-charges-latest-news-russia-uae\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">outstanding allegations in France<\/a><\/span> over alleged criminal activity on his platform, criticized the move, saying the real motive was political censorship.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Russia is restricting access to Telegram in an attempt to force its citizens to use a state-controlled app built for surveillance and political censorship,&#8221; he said, adding that &#8220;restricting citizens&#8217; freedom is never the right answer.&#8221; \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Russia previously <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/russia-blocks-facebook-twitter\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">banned<\/a><\/span>\u00a0a number of social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, and X (formerly known as Twitter) in response to what it said was the platforms&#8217; &#8220;discrimination&#8221; against Russian media following the launch of Moscow&#8217;s ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>Russia&#8217;s state-backed &#8220;Max&#8221; app<\/h2>\n<p>The &#8220;surveillance app&#8221; app referred to in the statements by WhatsApp and Telegram&#8217;s Durov is a platform called MAX. Launched in 2025 with full backing from the government, it is a multifunction app that includes messaging and e-commerce functions, but also access to a wide range of government services such as medical and municipal appointments.<\/p>\n<p>Similar to the WeChat app in China, MAX is touted by Russian officials as both a social network and key portal for government services.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/technology\/russia-orders-state-backed-max-messenger-app-whatsapp-rival-pre-installed-phones-2025-08-21\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">ordered<\/a> the state-backed app to come pre-installed on all new digital devices sold in Russia from last year.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"embed embed--type-image is-image embed--float-none embed--size-medium\">\n<p>      <span class=\"img embed__content\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/02\/12\/436df914-d902-4d79-a667-2518185fbb75\/thumbnail\/620x413\/27771ed414921fe6f414b89f96460433\/russia-max-app-2260310276.jpg#\" alt=\"MAX app \" height=\"413\" width=\"620\" class=\" lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/02\/12\/436df914-d902-4d79-a667-2518185fbb75\/thumbnail\/620x413\/27771ed414921fe6f414b89f96460433\/russia-max-app-2260310276.jpg 1x, https:\/\/assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/02\/12\/436df914-d902-4d79-a667-2518185fbb75\/thumbnail\/1240x826\/b75a50bc2efcf59667ce7a3279b33fb5\/russia-max-app-2260310276.jpg 2x\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/span><figcaption class=\"embed__caption-container\">\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__caption\">The MAX app logo is displayed on a smartphone screen in front of a Russian flag in Moscow, Russia, Feb. 9, 2026.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                Sefa Karacan\/Anadolu\/Getty<\/p>\n<p>                          <\/span><br \/>\n              <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The company <a href=\"https:\/\/legal.max.ru\/pp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">notes in its legal terms<\/a> that it can share user data with Russian authorities upon request, but says it does so only after a &#8220;mandatory legal assessment is conducted to determine the legality, validity, and adequacy of the requested data volume for the stated purposes,&#8221; and that it provides &#8220;only the minimum amount of data expressly required by applicable law.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>India&#8217;s government last year <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/india-smartphone-app-sanchar-saathi-government-install-order-revoked-privacy-uproar\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">revoked a previous order<\/a><\/span> for all new devices sold in the country to come pre-loaded with a state-developed and owned communications app, amid an outcry by opposition politicians and privacy organizations warning that it would be intrusive.<\/p>\n<section class=\"content__body--footer\">\n<\/section>\n<p>  <!-- data-recirc-source=\"chartbeat\" --><\/p>\n<aside class=\"component list recirculation component--type-recirculation  component--type-recirculation-collection\">\n<div class=\"component__item-recirc-block\">\n<p><h3 class=\"component__title\">Go deeper with The Free Press<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<section class=\"content__body--footer\">\n      <!-- tags --><\/p>\n<section class=\"content__tags\">\n<p class=\"content__tags__label\">In:<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     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blocking<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":65118,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[852,118,7782,988,7651],"class_list":["post-65117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-russia","tag-social-media","tag-telegram","tag-vladimir-putin","tag-whatsapp"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Russia blocks WhatsApp as it pushes state-backed alternative on citizens - World News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The messaging platform WhatsApp says Russia has &amp;quot;attempted to fully block&amp;quot; its service inside the country, &amp;quot;to drive people to a state-owned surveillance app.&amp;quot;\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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