Russian legislators say WhatsApp is a security threat, should leave the country

A Russian legislator that regulates the country, he said on Friday that WhatsApp should prepare to leave the Russian market, warning that the messaging application would probably be placed on a list of limited software.

Anton Gorelkin, deputy chief of the Information Technology Committee of the Lower Parliament, said in a statement that Max, a messaging application supported by the government integrated into government services, could gain market share if Whatsapp, which belongs to Meta, left the country.

“It is time that WhatsApp is preparing to leave the Russian market,” said Gorelkin, adding that Meta is designated as an extremist organization in Russia.

Facebook and Instagram, both detained by Meta, have been prohibited in Russia since 2022, when Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine in a war that continues.

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A Russian legislator who regulates the country, he said that WhatsApp should prepare to leave the Russian market. (Reuters)

Gorelkin made his comments after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law last month authorizing Max’s development while Russia seeks to reduce its dependence on platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram.

Russian legislators have approved refined legal amendments this week, offering fines of up to 5,000 rubles, or $ 63, for anyone looking for online equipment that the government considers extremist, including Instagram and Facebook, and opposition politicians and activists.

The proposal aroused criticism, including certain donors of the Kremlin such as Margarita Simonyan, a director of state media who declared that journalists could not investigate the activities of opposition groups such as the anti-corruption fund founded by the opposition figure deceased Alexei Navalny.

Anton Nemkin, member of the IT committee of the Parliament, said he was determined that WhatsApp would leave Russia.

“The presence of such a service in the digital space of Russia is, in fact, a legal violation of national security,” said Nemkin, according to TASS, a state agency belonging to the state.

Anton Nemkin, a member of the IT committee of the Parliament, said he was determined that Whatsapp would leave Russia. (Getty Images)

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that all services must follow the Russian law when they have been asked if WhatsApp could leave the country.

Russia has long tried to establish what it describes as digital sovereignty by promoting local services.

But criticisms expressed their concerns that the new messaging application supported by the state of Russia can follow the activities of its users and suggested that Russia could slow the speeds of WhatsApp to encourage downloads of the new application.

YouTube has seen its audience in Russia significantly in the past year at less than 10 million daily users of more than 40 million in mid-2024, because slower download speeds have made people more difficult for people to access the video platform.

The actions of the technological company controlled by the VK State, which develops local digital services such as VK Video, a rival of YouTube, increased by 1.9% on Friday.

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President Vladimir Putin has signed a law authorizing the development of a messaging application supported by the state integrated into government services. (Sergei Bobylyov / Pool / AFP via Getty Images)

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The Kremlin has published this week a list of instructions from Putin, including a directive to introduce additional restrictions on the use of software in Russia, including communication services produced in “hostile countries” that have imposed sanctions against Russia.

Putin gave a deadline of September 1.

Referring to Putin’s order, Gorelkin said WhatsApp would probably be among the communication services to deal with new restrictions.

Reuters contributed to this report.