NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT
Anton Nemkin, a member of the parliament’s IT committee, said WhatsApp’s fate in Russia was now predetermined.
“The presence of such a service in Russia’s digital space is, in fact, a legal breach of national security,” the TASS news agency quoted Nemkin as saying.
Asked if WhatsApp might leave Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said all services must abide by Russian law.
Russia has long sought to establish what it calls digital sovereignty by promoting home-grown services.
Critics have voiced concerns that Russia’s new state-backed messaging app may track its users’ activities and have suggested Russia could slow WhatsApp’s speeds to encourage downloads.
Alphabet’s YouTube has seen its audience in Russia drop sharply in the last year to fewer than 10 million daily users from more than 40 million in mid-2024, as slower download speeds have made it harder for people to access.
The Kremlin this week published a list of instructions from Putin, including an order to introduce additional restrictions on the use in Russia of software, including communication services, produced in “unfriendly countries” that have imposed sanctions against Russia.
Putin gave a deadline of Sep 1. Gorelkin, referring to Putin’s order, said WhatsApp was likely to be among those communication services restricted.
Shares in state-controlled technology company VK, which is developing homegrown digital services like VK Video, a rival to YouTube, climbed 1.9 per cent on Friday.