WhatsApp and Telegram refuse to comply with Russian law while cooperating with foreign agencies, officials say
The messaging apps Telegram and WhatsApp refuse to share data with the Russian authorities on fraud and terror plots but comply with similar requests from other countries, the Digital Development Ministry in Moscow has said.
According to Russian security services, since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict, Kiev’s intelligence agencies have used the apps to recruit operatives to carry out attacks inside Russia.
Earlier this week, Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor partially blocked voice calls on both Telegram and WhatsApp. Text chats, file sharing, and other features remain available. The curtailed functions would be fully restored if the platforms comply with Russian laws, the regulator said.
The Digital Development Ministry said on Wednesday that the messaging platforms “despite repeated warnings… refuse to comply with the requirements of Russian law.” Telegram and WhatsApp refuse to provide information to law enforcement not only related to fraud, “but also on planning and committing terrorist acts” in Russia. “At the same time, all requirements for the provision of such information at the request of foreign intelligence services are promptly fulfilled,” it said.
This year alone, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has reported several plots in which suspects said they were contacted through the apps and instructed to prepare attacks.
One such plot was intercepted just days before it could unfold. A man told investigators he was approached in January on WhatsApp by an officer of Ukraine’s Security Service. He said he received assignments, small payments, and later photos and coordinates for an explosive cache meant to damage energy infrastructure in Novorossiysk, a major Russian port city on the Black Sea. He was detained by the FSB before reaching the site.
Another man was arrested in the western Russian exclave of Kaliningrad on suspicion of preparing an attack at May 9 Victory Day celebrations. The authorities said he had received his orders through Telegram and was paid in cryptocurrency.
Europe, despite its own bitter experience with terrorism, continues to show unwavering support for Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has offered assurances that the EU “will be at [Ukraine’s] side for as long as it takes.” Germany, France, and other European nations have made similar pledges.
