Russia restricts WhatsApp, Telegram calls, alleging criminal, terrorist activity

The two messaging apps replied separately, commenting on user rights and efforts to counter crime.

Russia is restricting calls on the WhatsApp and Telegram messaging apps in what it says is a bid to counter criminal activity, but that WhatsApp contends is a response to its defiance of government efforts to violate user communication rights.

“According to law enforcement agencies’ information and numerous reports from citizens, the foreign messengers Telegram and WhatsApp have become the main voice services used for deceit and extortion and involvement of Russian citizens in sabotage and terrorist activities,” Russian telecommunications agency Roskomnadzor said Wednesday, according to the Russian news outlet Interfax. “The repeated demands for countermeasures to be taken have been ignored by the owners of the messengers.”

WhatsApp and Telegram responded separately.

“WhatsApp is private, end-to-end encrypted, and defies government attempts to violate people’s right to secure communication, which is why Russia is trying to block it from over 100 million Russian people,” a spokesperson said in a statement to CyberScoop. WhatsApp said it intends to keep doing what it can to make end-to-end encrypted communications available everywhere, including Russia, and would continue to add layers of protection against scams.

Telegram’s press team offered a statement to CyberScoop via its app.

“Telegram actively combats harmful use of its platform including calls for sabotage or violence and fraud,” the statement reads. “Moderators empowered with custom AI and machine learning tools proactively monitor public parts of the platform and accept reports in order to remove millions of pieces of harmful content each day.

“As well, Telegram pioneered granular privacy settings for calls, so every Telegram user can define who to accept calls from or to switch off calls completely,” the statement concludes.

The Roskomnadzor statement follows days of reports of problems making calls via the two apps, and as Russia seeks to introduce its own national messaging app, Max, raising surveillance concerns.

A top Russian lawmaker recently urged WhatsApp to get out of the Russian market to make way for Max. Facebook and Instagram, which share the parent company Meta with WhatsApp, have been banned in Russia since 2022 after the invasion of Ukraine.

WhatsApp recently announced that it had taken down 6.8 million accounts in the first half of 2025 as part of a crackdown on scams. Telegram has long garnered attention as a hub for criminals and extremists.

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