Overview
- Roskomnadzor told state media it will maintain existing technical limits on WhatsApp and offered no timeline for easing them.
- The regulator began partially restricting call functionality in WhatsApp and Telegram in August, describing the step as a fraud‑prevention measure.
- Officials have repeatedly warned that WhatsApp could face a complete block if it does not meet Russian legal requirements.
- State Duma deputy Andrey Svintsov called for the government to fully block WhatsApp within six months and urged users to switch to the domestic platform Makh.
- Meta, the owner of WhatsApp, is designated extremist and banned in Russia, a status that authorities cite in their scrutiny of the messenger.