The management of the WhatsApp messenger stated that the Russian authorities, by restricting access to the service, aim to deprive more than 100 million Russians of the right to private and end-to-end encrypted correspondence. This was stated by a messenger representative in a comment to Reuters.
“WhatsApp is deeply integrated into the structure of every community in the country — from parent and work groups to friendly, neighborhood, and family chats in different regions of Russia. We are determined to fight for our users because forcing people to use less secure and government-imposed applications can only lead to decreased safety for Russian citizens,” said a WhatsApp representative, as quoted by Meduza.
Roskomnadzor states that it is "consistently implementing restrictive measures" against WhatsApp, as the messenger violates Russian legislation. The agency claims that the messenger is used for organizing terrorist acts and recruiting terrorists, as well as for fraudulent and other crimes against Russians.
Since August 2025, Roskomnadzor has been blocking calls through WhatsApp. At that time, representatives of the messenger had already stated that they would do everything possible "to ensure that communication protected by end-to-end encryption remains accessible to people around the world, including in Russia."
On December 22, users from Russia again reported issues with WhatsApp. According to experts, since that day, the speed of the messenger's operation in Russia has decreased by 70-80%. Roskomnadzor stated that it would completely block the messenger if the company does not comply with Russian legislation requirements.
