WhatsApp has complained about restrictions on its service in Russia, accusing the authorities of trying to deprive more than 100 million Russians of the right to private correspondence ahead of the holiday season.
WhatsApp has complained about restrictions on its service in Russia, accusing the authorities of trying to deprive more than 100 million Russians of the right to private correspondence ahead of the holiday season.
WhatsApp's statement came after repeated warnings from the Russian communications regulator that the messenger would be completely blocked if it did not bring its services into line with Russian law, Reuters writes .
"WhatsApp continues to violate Russian law. The messenger is used to organize and carry out terrorist acts on the territory of the country, recruit their perpetrators, and commit fraud and other crimes against our citizens," Roskomnadzor told Russian state media. The regulator confirmed that it is taking steps to gradually restrict WhatsApp in this regard.
Thousands of Russians complained about outages and slowdowns on Tuesday, monitoring websites showed.
“By restricting access to WhatsApp, the Russian government aims to deprive over 100 million people of their right to private, end-to-end encrypted communication just in time for the holiday season in Russia,” a WhatsApp spokesperson said. “WhatsApp is deeply embedded in the fabric of every community in the country — from parent and work groups to chats between friends, neighbors, and extended family across Russia. We are committed to fighting for our users because forcing them to use less secure and government-backed apps can only make Russians less safe.”
In addition to WhatsApp, Russia also blocks Snapchat , Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Instead, the authorities are promoting a state-owned messenger called MAX , which critics say can be used to track users.
