Russia Warns of Full WhatsApp Blockade Over Violations

Russia's communications regulator has warned of a potential full blockade of WhatsApp, escalating restrictions on the popular messaging app amid accusations of its use in criminal activities. The move, announced Friday by Roskomnadzor, follows months of partial curbs and reflects Moscow's broader efforts to favor domestic digital platforms over foreign ones.

Roskomnadzor stated that WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms Inc., has repeatedly violated Russian laws by failing to prevent and suppress crimes, including the organization of terrorist acts, recruitment of perpetrators, and fraud targeting citizens. "If the messenger fails to comply with Russian legislation, it will be completely blocked," the agency said in a statement reported by Interfax and TASS. Since August, voice and video calls on the app have been restricted as part of an anti-fraud initiative, while text messaging had remained largely functional until recent disruptions. Users across Russia reported widespread outages on Friday, particularly in Moscow and St. Petersburg, with over 2,000 complaints logged by monitoring service Sboy.rf. Similar issues affected Siberia and the Urals the previous day, including slow...