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3w ago

Russia Orders State Super-App Installation and Tightens Online Controls

Mandating the MAX app on new smartphones replaces Western messaging platforms, reinforcing Kremlin control of internet traffic.

An activist holds a sign reading, "For Russia without censorship. Orwell wrote a dystopia, not an instruction manual,” referring to author George Orwell during a protest in front of the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, July 22, 2025, prior to lawmakers approving a measure that punishes online searches for information that is deemed “extremist.” (AP Photo)
Pedestrians look at their phones while walking through St. Petersburg, Russia, on Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
A woman wearing a niqab, checks her phone while walking along the Red Square in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)
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Overview

  • President Putin signed legislation requiring every new smartphone sold in Russia to come preinstalled with the state-backed MAX app starting in September.
  • A new law criminalizes online searches for broadly defined “extremist” materials, exposing individuals to fines and potential jail time.
  • Roskomnadzor has ramped up blocking of VPN services and implemented regional cellphone internet shutdowns to isolate domestic traffic.
  • Deputy lawmakers have publicly urged WhatsApp to exit the market so that users will transition to the government-mandated MAX messenger.
  • Regulatory changes, including a rise in internet provider licensing fees to one million rubles, have consolidated IP address management under seven major, state-aligned firms.