Censorship agency restricts access to Telegram and WhatsApp 'for security reasons'
According to Russian authorities, the popular messenger services are used for fraud, extortion, and sabotage.
Russia's state censorship authority Roskomnadzor has announced a “partial” restriction on calls via Telegram and WhatsApp. The measure is taken for security reasons, and no other functional restrictions are being introduced, state media RIA Novosti reports with reference to the censorship agency.
“According to law enforcement agencies and numerous citizen reports, foreign messengers Telegram and WhatsApp have become the main voice services used for fraud and extortion of money, as well as involving Russian citizens in sabotage and terrorist activities," the regulator informs. "Repeated demands for countermeasures by the messenger services' owners have been ignored,” it claims.
Russia does indeed have a growing problem with digital fraud. But the actual reason for the blocking is more related to the increasingly rigid censorship regime in the country.
Russian authorities have so far not taken steps to block traditional telephone communication.
Rumours about the blocking of the two popular messengers in Russia have been circulating for a some time. A few days before the Roskomnadzor's announcement, WhatsApp users reported technical communication problems. This was not only during voice calls but even when sending messages. According to Mediascope, just under a hundred million people in Russia use the WhatsApp messenger, and Telegram has a similar audience.
Last year, the Russian authorities effectively blocked YouTube. This step was long considered impossible, but the state ultimately managed to cut off the important source of uncensored information. As reported by Meduza, as a result of the service slowdown, Russians started watching regular television more often.
Notice to readers: the Barents Observer has itself been blocked on Russian territory by Roskomnadzor since 2019. The newspaper took the censorship agency to court, and ultimately to the European Court of Human Rights. The case against Russia was won by the Barents Observer in February 2025.
