Russia removes WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram from a Roskomnadzor-run online directory, essentially blocking them in the country, unless users rely on a VPN

Financial Times 2026-02-12

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@whatsapp @whatsapp on x
Today the Russian government attempted to fully block WhatsApp in an effort to drive people to a state-owned surveillance app. 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.
@jsrailton John Scott-Railton on x
3/ Russia is very clearly building a digital apparatus of mass control. The history of autocrats trying to replace popular and private foreign apps with homegrown surveillance tools is not new. But Russia is the biggest experiment yet. By @MehulAtLarge & @NastyaStognei
@jsrailton John Scott-Railton on x
NEW: Russia's digital iron curtain is slamming shut. They just began a @WhatsApp block among other services. Behind the curtain? Russians are being pushed to use the Max app, which has zero encryption, connects with gov services & looks exactly like a mass surveillance tool. [ima…
@jsrailton John Scott-Railton on x
@MehulAtLarge @NastyaStognei 4/ Russia has more than 100 million @whatsapp users despite the government shenanigans And it seems far more likely that, instead of displacing all of them to the Max app, Russia is about to push an unprecedented volume of traffic over VPNs. By @markc…
@gloooud @gloooud on x
[...] The data of the sites have been removed from the NSDII DNS service. This means that Russian users cannot access the platforms 📱📱 Previously, they did the same with YouTube, WhatsApp. And also slowed down access to Telegram When trying to access the sites of WhatsApp, Face…
@jsrailton John Scott-Railton on x
2/ Russia has been degrading alternatives to the Max app for a while... all while pushing the app in various ways. Like forcing all new phones sold in RU to have it pre-installed. This week marks the biggest yet push to centralize a whole country into one surveillance mega-app. […
@annafromua_yt @annafromua_yt on x
⚠️ The #Kremlin's blocking #Telegram & WhatsApp across Russia—cutting soldiers off from coordinating on the frontline, ruining warning systems for Belgorod, just to hide the truth of their collapsing economy. Even Putin's supporters are outraged! #RussiaIsCollapsing [video]
@aaronbastani Aaron Bastani on x
A post American internet is coming. For better and worse. We'll get European versions of Amazon, and more high street bookshops. While state surveillance, by countries which aren't the US, hit China levels.
@russiaspivot @russiaspivot on x
@WhatsApp Comply with Russian laws and you'll have access to the Russian market. Meta has no representative office in Russia, as it is legally required to, nor has it paid fines levied on it for refusing to remove unlawful content. Don't comply - and you won't have Russian access…
@lwazimbk Lwazi on x
A CIA surveillance app complaining about a Russian surveillance app 😂😂😂
@justinhendrix Justin Hendrix on bluesky
“Millions of Russians were abruptly cut off from the encrypted WhatsApp messaging service on Wednesday afternoon after months of efforts to force them on to a ‘national messenger’ built for surveillance.”

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Russia removes WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram from a Roskomnadzor-run online directory, essentially blocking them in the country, unless users rely on a VPN

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