Internet Control Tightens in Russia as WhatsApp and Telegram Calls Face New Restrictions

The Russian government has put new restrictions on calls made through the popular messaging applications WhatsApp and Telegram. Officials said this is part of their continuous efforts to keep the internet safe and fight crime.

Roskomnadzor, which is Russia's media and the internet regulator, made the declaration. The agency said that people are using both WhatsApp and Telegram to scam people, extort money, and even promote terrorist and sabotage actions.They stated that even though they asked the corporations to take action many times, they haven't assist. WhatsApp and Telegram have not yet spoken anything about the matter. 

This isn't the first time that the Russian government has made internet laws stricter. Over the years, they have made stringent laws, blocked websites that don't respect them, and created technologies to keep an eye on and control what people do online. People can sometimes get around restrictions with VPNs, although these services are also often prohibited.

This summer, the government took even more steps to keep an eye on what people do online.They passed new regulations that punish people for looking for "illegal" content, and carried out internet shutdowns, which affected mobile users. They also alerted that WhatsApp would be banned soon and pushed for a new national messaging application.

Earlier this week, Russian media sources said that there were problems with calls on WhatsApp and Telegram. People said that calls wouldn't connect or that the sound would stop out while they were talking. 

In the past, both platforms have experienced problems with the Russian government. The Kremlin tried to stop Telegram from 2018 to 2020, but it didn't work. After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the authorities banned Facebook and Instagram.

Anton Gorelkin, stated in July that WhatsApp should get ready to quit the Russian market completely so that Russia can create place for its own messenger, MAX. 

VK, a Russian social media firm, made MAX. The application is meant to let you send messages, get government services online, and make payments all in one place. It has been under beta testing for a while, but it hasn't become very popular yet. Only about 2 million people had signed up by July.

But soon, MAX should be increasingly widespread.  A new regulation states that all smartphones sold in Russia must have it already loaded. According to its conditions, user data will be given with authorities if they request it.The government additionally advises enterprises, state offices, and public personalities to switch to MAX for communication.

The push for MAX and these new rules show that Russia is moving toward greater control of online communication, replacing international platforms with services that the government watches.

Information referenced in this article is from India TV