Russia threatens to ‘completely block’ WhatsApp

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A state watchdog has accused the messaging service of failing to comply with national laws

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Russia's state communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, has threatened to completely block WhatsApp if the messaging service fails to comply with national laws, news agencies reported.

This follows August's restrictions on some WhatsApp and Telegram calls, with authorities accusing the foreign-owned platforms, including Meta Platforms' WhatsApp, of refusing to share information with law enforcement in fraud and terrorism cases.

Roskomnadzor reiterated its accusation on Friday, saying WhatsApp had failed to meet Russian requirements designed to prevent and combat crime.

“If the messaging service continues to fail to meet the demands of Russian legislation, it will be completely blocked,” Interfax news agency quoted it as saying.

WhatsApp has accused Moscow of trying to block millions of Russians from accessing secure communication.

Russian authorities are pushing a state-backed rival app called MAX, which critics claim could be used to track users. State media have dismissed those accusations as false.

Russia tightens grip on connectivity

Russia has been tightening its control of the internet over the past months.

Mobile phone internet shutdowns have affected dozens of Russian regions, ostensibly thwarting Ukrainian drone attacks.

The impact is profound: credit cards fail for public transport, ATMs disconnect, and parents of diabetic children report being unable to monitor blood glucose levels during outages.

In November, 57 Russian regions on average reported daily disruptions to cellphone links, according to Na Svyazi, an activist group monitoring shutdowns.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said they are “absolutely justified and necessary”.

However, analyst Kateryna Stepanenko of the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said they haven’t been effective in curbing the intensity of Ukraine’s drone attacks, “given the amount of strikes we’ve seen in recent months on Russian oil refineries”.

In many regions, only a handful of government-approved Russian websites and online services, designated as being on “white lists”, are available during connectivity blackouts.

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