"Extremist company" product: Russian authorities will ban WhatsApp

To spread: Russia is preparing to block WhatsApp messenger. In the Kremlin, it was already referred to software from "unfriendly countries", and in the State Duma is called for preparation for the full exit of the platform from the Russian market. The Government of the Russian Federation is working on new restrictions for foreign software, in particular for messengers. This was announced by the Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy Anton Gorelkin.

According to him, whatsApp, owned by Meta, is likely to be included in the list of prohibited services. "WhatsApp is the time to get ready to leave the Russian market," the deputy wrote in his Telegram. He stressed that the messenger, which use 68% of Russians daily, can fall under new sanctions under the order of President Vladimir Putin. According to this document, the government should develop additional measures against software from so -called "unfriendly countries".

At the same time, Gorkelkin believes that another popular service - Telegram will not fall under these restrictions. He explained this by the fact that the Telegram headquarters is located in the United Arab Emirates, which Moscow does not consider hostile, as well as the possibility of cooperation of the messenger with Russian legislation. "A national messenger will become a contender for WhatsApp fate," the MP said. It is a MAX platform created by VK.

According to the developers, the new service should integrate with state services, maintain electronic signature, digital ID and other functions, including business accounts. The MAX messenger, created by Chinese WeChat, was presented in March. In June, Vladimir Putin publicly stated that all state services should be transferred to this platform. It is known that the application collects user data and can transfer them to state structures or partners of the company.