Russia Blocks Popular Apps. The Reason May Surprise You

"In order to combat crime, measures are being taken to partially restrict connections on foreign messengers," reads a statement from the Russian intelligence services. In Russia, some functions in popular apps have been blocked to curb—as they put it—"fraud, extortion, and terrorism." Local media report that the Russian decision was made "at the very top."

Roskomnadzor (Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Communications) has restricted calls made through popular foreign messaging apps , including WhatsApp. According to a statement cited by The Moscow Times, the order was issued "at the very top" and is a response to "numerous requests from citizens."

The agency said Russians reportedly complained that the most popular messaging apps "have become the main applications used for fraud, extortion, sabotage, and terrorist activities." Law enforcement agencies also reached similar conclusions, supporting the demands.

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"In order to combat crimes, in accordance with the recommendations of law enforcement agencies, actions are being taken to partially restrict connections on these foreign messengers . No other restrictions on their operation are being introduced," it was reported.

Roskomnadzor recalled that since last year, Russia has had a system in place to block suspicious calls from numbers on traditional telephone networks. As a result, almost all such calls were redirected to foreign messaging services, which, in turn, "do not ensure the safety of Russian users and society."

The Ministry of Digital Development stated that access to calls will be restored once the messaging services meet compliance requirements with Russian law. The ministry welcomed Roskomnadzor's decision, emphasizing that it will help "reduce the number of fraudulent calls."

Anton Nemkin , a member of the State Duma Information Policy Committee and a member of United Russia, stated that foreign apps have for many years "demonstrated a complete unwillingness to comply with Russian law", do not remove "illegal materials", and "do not comply with the requirements of personal data protection".

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According to him, the number of Russians encountering fraudsters has increased 3.5-fold since last year. The MP did not provide specific statistics, citing only "thousands of hacked accounts," fake calls, and data theft. According to telecom industry experts, using foreign SIM cards is unlikely to be an effective way to circumvent the ban.