By Andrew Osborn and Mrinmay Dey
MOSCOW, Feb 12 (Reuters) – U.S. messenger app WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms, accused authorities in Russia on Thursday of trying to fully block its service in order to drive Russians to a state-owned app, which it alleged was used for surveillance.
“Trying to isolate over 100 million users from private and secure communication is a backwards step and can only lead to less safety for people in Russia,” WhatsApp said in a statement.
“We continue to do everything we can to keep users connected.”
Some domain names associated with WhatsApp on Thursday disappeared from Russia’s national register of domain names, meaning that devices inside Russia stopped receiving its IP addresses from the app and that it could be accessed only by using a virtual private network (VPN).
Roskomnadzor, the state communications regulator, and the Kremlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
RESTRICTIONS ON WHATSAPP
Roskomnadzor first began restricting WhatsApp and other messenger services in August, making it impossible to complete phone calls on them, accusing the foreign-owned platforms of failing to share information with law enforcement in fraud and terrorism cases.
It said in December it was taking new measures to gradually restrict the app, which it accused of continuing to violate Russian law and of being a platform used “to organise and carry out terrorist acts on the territory of the country, to recruit their perpetrators and to commit fraud and other crimes.”
Since then, many Russians have been able to use WhatsApp only in conjunction with a virtual private network and have switched to using rival messenger apps, though some of those – like Telegram – are also under pressure from the authorities for the same reasons.
In a video published by state news agency TASS on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there was a possibility of reaching an agreement if Meta entered into dialogue with the Russian authorities and complied with the law.
“If the corporation (Meta) sticks to an uncompromising position and, I would say, shows itself unready to align with Russian legislation, then there is no chance,” Peskov said.
Russian authorities, who also block or restrict social media platforms such as Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, are heavily pushing a state-backed messenger app called MAX, which critics say could be used to track users.
The authorities have dismissed those accusations as false and say MAX, which integrates various government-related services into it, is designed to simplify and improve the everyday lives of citizens.
(Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Mexico City, Chandni Shah in Bengaluru, Gleb Stolyarov, Ron Popeski, Andrew Osborn in Moscow; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu, Rashmi Aich and Timothy Heritage)
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