Russia confirms it has blocked WhatsApp, citing Meta's “unwillingness to comply with Russian law”, and proposes that Russians switch to the state-owned Max app

U.S. messenger app WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms (META.O), has been completely blocked in Russia for failing …

Reuters 2026-02-13

Discussion

@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.
@davetroy Dave Troy on x
Most important signal here is that what Russia is telling the world is about to get very different from what it's telling its domestic population. That's always been true but it's about to go into overdrive.
@helsinkicomm @helsinkicomm on x
Today, Russia blocked WhatsApp and continues to restrict Telegram, pushing citizens to use a state-owned app that allows authorities to surveil individuals. This is the Kremlin's latest act to implement a centralized censorship regime, isolating citizens from the global internet.…
@lukolejnik Lukasz Olejnik on x
Censorship is a standard propaganda tool in hands of States.
@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…
@talbeerysec Tal Be'ery on x
Russia 🇷🇺 fully blocked @WhatsApp but is only throttling @telegram. That says a lot about which one is harder for them to surveil.
@dispropoganda @dispropoganda on x
[...] Where are the outraged tweets from Vance and Rubio about the necessity of freedom of speech for the Russian people? Where are all the MAGA influencers' posts about Russian censorship? Where is the never-ending Truth Social tirade from Trump threatening Putin not to mess w…
@durov Pavel Durov on x
Russia's hope that it can create tech “national champions” by banning all their competitors is delusional. Every real national super app was forged in fierce private competition (WeChat, KakaoTalk, LINE). Competition and innovation are two sides of the same coin.
r/worldnews r on reddit
Russia moves to block WhatsApp in messaging app crackdown

Chronicles

Russia confirms it has blocked WhatsApp, citing Meta's “unwillingness to comply with Russian law”, and proposes that Russians switch to the state-owned Max app

Related Coverage

Discussion