Russia blocks WhatsApp, tightens internet control
Following YouTube, Russia has blocked the messaging app WhatsApp, according to the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security.
Russian media outlets reported that the service’s domain had been removed from Roskomnadzor’s DNS system. As a result, Russian internet providers are unable to match the website’s address with its IP address. This makes the service inaccessible without a VPN, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
***
Russian media also report that WhatsApp has disappeared from the records of Russia’s National Domain Name System.
Domains previously used by whatsapp.com and web.whatsapp.com have reportedly been removed, while the technical domain whatsapp.net and the short-link domain wa.me are still listed in the National Domain Name System database.
Earlier, the Center explained that blocking WhatsApp in Russia is aimed at forcing users to switch to Max, a messaging app that is fully transparent to Russian security services. Officials present the move as “protecting citizens’ security,” but in practice, it means total control.
Russian authorities previously restricted the operation of two popular messaging apps, Telegram and WhatsApp, in temporarily occupied Crimea. Users were pressured to install the Russian messaging app Max.
The largest telecom provider, Volna, said it was acting in accordance with an order from Roskomnadzor, which it claims applies to subscribers of all operators and providers in the “territory of Russia.”
In addition, Russia is planning to introduce digital registration of children: parents may be required to notify telecom operators if a SIM card is handed over to a child. This information would be entered into a state monitoring system, allowing authorities to identify underage users.
