Russia announced on Wednesday that it was restricting restrict calls made via WhatsApp and Telegram, in a new crackdown following the blocking of several Western social media networks in recent years.
"To fight criminals, steps have been taken to restrict calls on these foreign messaging apps (WhatsApp and Telegram)," the state news agency Ria Novosti said, quoting Russia's communications watchdog.
The Russian authorities accuse these messaging services of facilitating fraud and "involving Russian citizens in acts of sabotage and terrorist activities," Ria Novosti added.
At the end of July, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a new law restricting freedom of expression. The new law punishes Internet searches for content classified as ‘extremist’ and bans the promotion of VPNs (Virtual Private Networks), which protect users by encrypting their data and are 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, Facebook and Instagram, owned by the US group Meta - declared ‘extremist’ in Russia - have also been blocked.
The Kremlin has been drastically restricting press freedom and freedom of expression on the Internet since the launch of its offensive in Ukraine in 2022, focusing increasingly on Western platforms such as Google, Facebook, YouTube and X.
