Technology & Science
Russia Threatens Full Ban on WhatsApp, Pushes Mandatory Adoption of State-Backed ‘Max’ Messenger
On 29 Nov 2025, regulator Roskomnadzor warned it will block WhatsApp nationwide unless it yields user data, days before Russia begins requiring the unencrypted domestic app Max on every new phone.
Focusing Facts
- Voice and video calls on WhatsApp have already been disabled in Russia since August 2025.
- From 1 September 2025 all smartphones and tablets sold in Russia must ship with Max pre-installed by government order.
- WhatsApp is used by roughly 100 million people in Russia—about two-thirds of the country’s population.
Context
Moscow’s ultimatum echoes Beijing’s 2009 expulsion of Google services that cleared the way for WeChat’s rise, and it fits a lineage of Russian moves toward a “sovereign internet” begun with the 2019 Runet isolation law and earlier state control of telegraphs after the 1917 revolution. Long-running trends converge here: states reclaiming data jurisdiction, wartime information clamp-downs (heightened since the 2022 Ukraine invasion), and the global fracturing of the open web into national stacks. Whether Max catches on or not matters less than the precedent: by hard-wiring a surveillance-friendly app into every device, the Kremlin normalises turnkey data access that could endure for decades, shaping how future Russians communicate, organise politically, and interact with the outside world. On a 100-year horizon, this episode is another brick in the slow retreat from the borderless internet ideal toward 19th-century style spheres of communication sovereignty—potentially as irreversible as the partitioning of the global telephone system after World War II.
Perspectives
Outlets echoing Russia's official security narrative
e.g., Pakistan Observer, Blueprint Newspapers Limited — They present the threatened WhatsApp ban as a justified step to curb terrorism, fraud and other crimes while urging citizens to migrate to the government-supported Max messenger. These pieces largely reproduce Roskomnadzor statements without scrutinising surveillance or censorship implications, reflecting alignment with Kremlin talking points.
International and rights-focused media critical of Moscow’s crackdown
e.g., ETTelecom.com, India TV News — They frame the possible ban as part of a wider effort to tighten state control over the internet and force Russians onto unencrypted domestic apps, raising alarms about mass surveillance and free-speech suppression. By foregrounding censorship and privacy concerns, these outlets may understate genuine law-enforcement worries about encrypted platforms and lean toward a Western civil-liberties perspective.
Ground-level reports featuring ordinary Russian users
e.g., eNCAnews, RTL Today — Street interviews reveal widespread scepticism toward the state-backed Max app and fears that forcing a switch from WhatsApp would restrict personal freedoms. Reliance on a handful of anecdotal voices from Moscow may over-represent dissent while not capturing supporters of the policy across Russia.