Russia restricts calls via WhatsApp and Telegram

Russia announced Wednesday that it is restricting calls made via WhatsApp and Telegram, a new crackdown by authorities after blocking several Western social media sites in recent years.

"To combat criminals, measures have been taken to restrict calls on these foreign messaging apps (WhatsApp and Telegram)," the state news agency Ria Novosti reported, citing the Russian communications watchdog.

Russian authorities accuse these messaging services of facilitating fraud and "involving Russian citizens in acts of sabotage and terrorist activities," the same source added.

At the end of July, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law further restricting freedom of expression.

VPNs in the crosshairs

The new law aims to punish internet searches for content classified as "extremist" and prohibits the promotion of VPNs (Virtual Private Networks), which protect users by encrypting their data, systems widely used in Russia to circumvent censorship.

Since 2024, the YouTube video platform has only been accessible in Russia via a VPN. And since 2022, the Facebook and Instagram social networks of the American group Meta, declared "extremist" in Russia, have also been blocked.

In July, Russian MP Anton Gorelkin said that WhatsApp, also owned by Meta, should prepare "to leave the Russian market" because there was "a strong likelihood that the application would soon be added to the list of software from countries considered "unfriendly" by Moscow.

These statements had raised fears of an imminent blocking of WhatsApp, one of the most widely used messaging services in Russia.

The Kremlin has drastically restricted press freedom and freedom of expression online since launching its offensive in Ukraine in 2022, increasingly focusing on Western platforms like Google, Facebook, YouTube, and X.