Overview
- The communications regulator said its measures would limit encrypted voice calls on WhatsApp and Telegram because these apps facilitate fraud, sabotage and terrorist activities.
- This action follows a multi-year campaign that has blocked Western social platforms, penalized searches for extremist content and restricted VPN promotion.
- From September 1, all Russian digital software will be required to integrate MAX, a Kremlin-controlled messenger without end-to-end encryption that critics warn will grant security services access to private communications.
- Telegram said it actively combats abusive content and removes millions of harmful messages daily, while WhatsApp had not publicly responded to the new restrictions.
- Analysts interpret these steps as an effort to steer users away from unregulated foreign channels toward surveilled domestic services, deepening Russia’s informational isolation.