Russia’s escalating digital crackdown has reached a critical juncture as Moscow targets the encrypted communication lifelines that millions of citizens rely on for private conversations and secure information sharing. The systematic restriction of WhatsApp and Telegram calls represents more than just technical limitations—it signals a fundamental assault on digital privacy rights that could reshape how Russians communicate in an increasingly authoritarian state.
Government Restrictions and Platform Response
WhatsApp accused Moscow of trying to block millions of Russians from accessing secure communication after calls on the messaging app were restricted, as Russia promotes home-grown social media platforms and seeks greater control over the country’s internet space.
Russia said on Wednesday that it had started restricting some WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms META.O, and Telegram calls, accusing the foreign-owned platforms of failing to share information with law enforcement in fraud and terrorism cases.
Text messaging services and voice notes are currently unaffected.
A simmering dispute with foreign tech providers intensified after Moscow’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with Russia blocking Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, slowing the speed of Alphabet’s GOOGL.O YouTube and issuing hundreds of fines to platforms that failed to comply with Russian rules on online content and data storage.
“WhatsApp is private, end-to-end encrypted, and defies government attempts to violate people’s right to secure communication, which is why Russia is trying to block it from over 100 million Russian people,” WhatsApp said late on Wednesday, vowing to continue trying to keep encrypted services available in Russia.
Market Impact and User Statistics
In July 2025, WhatsApp’s monthly reach in Russia was 97.3 million people, compared to 90.8 million for Telegram, according to Mediascope data. Third-placed VK Messenger, an offering from state-controlled tech company VK VKCO.MM, reached 17.9 million people.
Russia has a population of more than 140 million people.
A public Telegram group of Krasnodar taxi drivers was inundated on Thursday with complaints about poor mobile connectivity, with many drivers unable to use online maps to navigate around.
“What should I do, there’s no map,” a driver named Sergei asked the 3,700 others in the forum.
“Download offline maps,” Alexei, another driver, suggested. “For the future.”
State-Controlled Alternative and Digital Control
Russia banning WhatsApp and Telegram users from making calls comes as the government is actively promoting a new state-controlled messaging app, MAX, that will be integrated with government services and which critics fear could track its users’ activities.
Senior politicians are migrating to MAX, urging their followers to come with them.
Anton Gorelkin, a leading regulator of Russia’s IT sector in parliament, said he would post to his MAX followers first and said many other lawmakers would soon follow suit.
“Ultimately, they want to control users and the information they receive,” said Mikhail Klimarev, director of the Internet Protection Society, a Russian digital rights group.
But MAX may not cope with a huge influx, Klimarev told Reuters, so a gradual adoption is preferable. And there is also a social consideration.
“Changes are never welcome,” Klimarev told Reuters. “People don’t like being forced to register somewhere (new).”
WhatsApp’s other services remain available for now, but the steady degradation of a service is a tactic Russia has employed before, notably with YouTube, where slower download speeds have made it harder for people to access content.
Human Rights Watch said in a report last month that Russia has been “meticulously expanding [its] legal and technological tools to carve out Russia’s section of the internet into a tightly controlled and isolated forum”.
Moscow’s assault on encrypted messaging represents a decisive moment in the global struggle between digital privacy and authoritarian control. The systematic degradation of foreign platforms while promoting state-monitored alternatives reveals a sophisticated strategy to eliminate private communication spaces. This digital crackdown extends far beyond Russia’s borders, setting dangerous precedents for authoritarian regimes worldwide.
GCN.com/Reuters.