Since January 2025, russian authorities have intensified pressure on the WhatsApp social messaging platform, reflecting a wider effort to tighten state control over foreign digital platforms and the domestic information environment. This effort has substantially increased since russia launched its illegal, full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, as the russian state has sought to limit dissent, and criticism of the war, UK Defense Intelligence reports.
On January 15, 2026, Andrey Svintsov, deputy chair of the State Duma Committee for Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications, stated his belief that Roskomnadzor, russia's federal agency for the oversight of communications, information technology and mass media, is preparing a "package of measures" that will lead to a final blocking of WhatsApp in russia by the end of 2026.
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Andrey Svintsov cited WhatsApp's ownership by Meta, which russian courts have designated an "extremist organisation", and argued that such measures were justified "particularly in an election year".
Roskomnadzor has already moved beyond rhetoric by interfering with the functioning of foreign messaging services. From mid-2025, the regulator imposed partial restrictions on WhatsApp and Telegram, including limitations on voice and video calls, claiming the platforms were being used for fraud and other criminal activity.
In October 2025, Roskomnadzor publicly acknowledged it was deliberately limiting the operation of foreign messenger platforms as part of law-enforcement and security efforts.
WhatsApp and Telegram are widely used in russia, with around 96 million users and over 89 million users respectively, and recent restrictions on these platforms have significantly disrupted everyday communications for ordinary civilians.
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