Russia restricts calls on WhatsApp and Telegram

Other WhatsApp and Telegram functions were not affected, Roskomnadzor said. However, their telephone services were being used to "defraud Russian citizens, extort money, involve them in sabotage or terrorist activities", it said. In fact, not only fraudsters are active on the messengers, Ukrainian secret services also use them to make contact in Russia.

Ministry: messenger services should comply with Russian laws

The restrictions would be lifted if the foreign messenger services complied with Russian laws, the digital ministry in Moscow told the state agency.

Like Facebook and Instagram, WhatsApp belongs to Mark Zuckerberg's US group Meta and refuses to share data with Russian authorities. Telegram was developed by the Russian Pavel Durov. There are accusations against Telegram in Russia, but also in other countries, that the service does not take enough action against criminal users.

Since the beginning of the war of aggression against Ukraine in 2022, the Moscow leadership has continued to expand its control over the Russian part of the internet. Foreign messenger services are to be replaced by a domestic app called Max, but critics fear that the authorities will access the data.