WhatsApp, Telegram and Snapchat: Russia bans foreign messengers


New salvo of regulation in Russia, which hits foreign instant messaging this time. WhatsApp, Discord, Telegram, Snapchat or even Skype are targeted. A first step before generalized exclusion?

Russia continues its flight forward, in full tension with the West. In a message published on March 1, the regulatory authority Roskomnadzor unveils a new offensive against foreign structures – in this case, some of the largest messaging services on the net – by ordering Russian organizations not to serve.

Nine platforms are mentioned in the short statement:

  • Discord;
  • Microsoft Teams;
  • Skype for Business;
  • Snapchat;
  • Telegram;
  • Threema;
  • Viber;
  • WhatsApp ;
  • WeChat.

These platforms are mostly American (Discord, Microsoft Teams, Skype, Snapchat and WhatsApp). There is a solution of Swiss origin (Threema), another from Japan (Viber) and one from China (WeChat). As for Telegram, its trajectory is particular: the company, now based in Dubai, is of Russian origin due to the nationality of the Durov brothers, the founders.

According to the legal indications in the Roskomnadzor press release, “ the law prohibits a number of Russian organizations from using foreign couriers “. The Bleeping Computer site, which also returns to the entry into force of the text, however notes some notable absentees, such as Zoom and Signal, which are also emanations from the Western world.

WhatsApp should no longer be used to communicate in Russian organizations, warns the local regulator. // Source: WhatsApp

These various messaging services offer functionalities allowing individual discussion, within the framework of a private correspondence with another person, or within the framework of more or less large groups. Their approach to security and privacy varies: end-to-end encryption is default for some, optional for others, and sometimes not at all.

The instructions given by the body in charge of supervising the media, communication and information technologies seem to be addressed only to Russian organizations, not directly to the population itself, which would perhaps be a sign that Moscow’s concern is not necessarily what we believe.

Growing decoupling between Russia and the West in tech

In recent years, Russia has operated a certain decoupling with the West, which has accelerated with the war against Ukraine, particularly in the field of tech. We have seen it with telecommunications networks (and the goal of having a “sovereign Internet”), operating systems, processors and now instant messaging applications.

Of course, this misalignment is also fed by the actions of the West to sanction Moscow’s military aggression: we have witnessed a disinvestment in tech on an unprecedented scale. Restrictions on newer Windows have been observed. Access to advanced technologies has dried up. The country’s interconnection with the rest of the world is diminished. The examples are numerous.

For further

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWi3T9okyvA&ab_channel=NBCNews // Source: NBC / Screenshot

Russia // Source: Canva
Russia is moving away from Western tech. // Source: Canva

Roskomnadzor’s decision can be analyzed in this light: little by little, Russia is only trying to rely on its own strengths by ruling out foreign solutions – if it is not their foreign publishers who are taking the lead, within the framework international sanctions. Organizations will therefore have to opt for Russian software instead.

There may also be a more prosaic reason, suggested by Bleeping Computer: here, Russia may fear information leaks or spying actions through these applications, if they serve in sensitive sectors. The war in Ukraine has prompted the intelligence services of both sides to greatly increase their efforts to find out what is happening opposite.

This decoupling remains, however, a very convenient pretext to strengthen censorship on the networks, in order to remove any speech that violates the official line enacted by Vladimir Putin: social networks like Facebook and Instagram (of American origin) as well as many media were excluded for not having followed the narrative of the Kremlin.


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