Russia Imposes Partial Restrictions on WhatsApp, Telegram Voice Calls

Russia has, in the past, urged the state authorities to ban “foreign-owned” WhatsApp and Telegram instant messaging services. Now, the country has imposed a partial restriction on voice calls via the two messengers, according to a recent report. The media and internet regulator of Russia has reportedly cited criminal activity, like extortion and deception, for imposing the restriction. However, the residents of the country can reportedly use a virtual private network (VPN) service to bypass this restriction.

Russia's Voice Call Restriction Can Be Bypassed Via VPNs

As reported by Russia's state-run news agency TASS on Wednesday, Roskomnadzor, the country's Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media, has imposed a partial restriction on voice calls made via WhatsApp and Telegram. The regulator said the decision was taken in order to fight crime in the country. All other functionalities on the two messaging apps remain unobstructed, Roskomnadzor said in a statement to TASS. 

"We inform you that in order to counter criminals, in accordance with the materials of law enforcement agencies, measures are being taken to partially restrict calls in these foreign messengers. No other restrictions on their functionality are introduced," the regulatory body told the Russian news agency.

The regulator said that the law enforcement agencies in the country, along with several citizens, had reportedly complained that the voice calling services of the Meta-owned WhatsApp and the UAE-based Telegram were increasingly being used to deceive and extort money from Russians. Moreover, the two instant messaging services were allegedly used to involve citizens in sabotage and terrorist activities.

Roskomnadzor said its repeated requests to WhatsApp and Telegram to take countermeasures against bad actors were ignored. The restriction on WhatsApp and Telegram voice calls, however, can reportedly be circumvented by using a VPN service.

In the past, Russian lawmakers have also appealed to the authorities to stop using WhatsApp and promote the use of domestically developed apps. It was highlighted that Meta, WhatsApp's parent company, was found to be guilty of extremist activities in Russia in March 2022. Following this, the country's financial monitoring agency added the tech giant to its list of "terrorists and extremists".

WhatsApp is not the only instant messaging service that has faced problems in Russia. In 2022, Roskomnadzor announced it would take punitive measures against five foreign tech companies, including Telegram. The regulator said at the time that these companies had failed to remove content that was flagged as illegal. These measures were imposed for an indefinite period till these tech firms complied with the order.