Russia restricts calls on WhatsApp, Telegram as internet control tightens

Russia accuses fashionable messaging apps of facilitating transgression and sabotage arsenic Moscow’s online restrictions tighten amid warfare successful Ukraine.

Russia has announced restrictions connected dependable calls made connected the WhatsApp and Telegram messaging apps, the latest moves by Moscow to tighten its power implicit the internet.

The curb connected calls is acceptable to interaction WhatsApp’s estimated 96 cardinal monthly users successful Russia and Telegram’s much than 89 cardinal users, according to Russian media monitoring work Mediascope.

In a connection connected Wednesday, Russia’s media and net regulator, Roskomnadzor, justified the measurement arsenic indispensable for warring crime.

“According to instrumentality enforcement agencies and galore appeals from citizens, overseas messengers Telegram and WhatsApp person go the main dependable services utilized to deceive and extort money, and to impact Russian citizens successful sabotage and violent activities,” the regulator said.

“Repeated requests to instrumentality countermeasures person been ignored by the owners of the messengers,” it said.

Moscow wants the online messaging services to supply entree to idiosyncratic information upon petition from instrumentality enforcement.

“Access to calls successful overseas messengers volition beryllium restored aft they commencement complying with Russian legislation,” Roskomnadzor said.

While authorities said lone dependable calls connected the platforms were restricted, users successful Russia besides reported that video calls were besides affected.

Since the opening of Russia’s full-scale penetration of Ukraine successful 2022, Moscow has been expanding power implicit the Russian portion of the internet. Security services person often claimed that Ukraine was utilizing Telegram to enlistee radical oregon perpetrate acts of sabotage successful Russia.

The Russian authorities adopted a instrumentality past period punishing online users for searching contented deemed illicit by authorities. Plans are besides successful spot for fashionable messaging services to beryllium replaced by a home Russian app called Max, which critics fearfulness volition let authorities entree to the data.

A WhatsApp spokesperson said successful a connection that the encrypted messaging app “defies authorities attempts to interruption people’s close to unafraid communication, which is wherefore Russia is trying to artifact it from implicit 100 cardinal Russian people”.

In a connection sent to the AFP quality agency, Telegram said that it “actively combats misuse of its platform, including calls for sabotage oregon violence, arsenic good arsenic fraud”, and removes “millions of pieces of harmful contented each day”.

Telegram, which was developed by Russian tech entrepreneur Pavel Durov, faces longstanding accusations successful respective countries, including Russia, of not doing capable against transgression users.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies