Russia prepares to get rid of WhatsApp and possibly Telegram

Parliament passed a law pertaining to a national messaging app

Originally published on Global Voices

On June 10, the Russian Parliament passed a law to create a messenger application “with the ability to use state services.” The precise description of the app in the legislation suggests that it was written to accommodate a messaging app called Max, developed by Russia's largest social media platform, VK.

As the independent Russian news media Meduza reported, on June 4, Minister of Digital Development Maksut Shadayev revealed that VK had already developed a “fully Russian messenger,” comparable to – and even surpassing – the technical capabilities of foreign apps.

State Duma, the official website of the Russian parliament, noted that users will be able to use their electronic signatures directly within the app in order to sign documents, as well as use the app to verify information such as their identity, age, entitlement to benefits, and educational qualifications. As such, the manager aims to replace some paper-based documents.

“With this application,” explained Sergey Boyarsky, head of the parliamentary committee on information policy, “you’ll be able to confirm your age at a supermarket checkout or even check into a hotel without presenting any paper documents.” In addition, all “educational services and chats currently used by educational institutions at all levels” will be moved to the national messenger.

At the moment, the biggest challenge in blocking WhatsApp and Telegram, the only Western messenger apps still allowed in Russia, is that the majority of the population uses them for day-to-day communication via things like WhatsApp school groups and Telegram family chats. However, schools will now be required to use the new messenger app, and its integration with state services should provide the impetus for a large number of users to switch completely, or at least to install the new app alongside their existing messaging platforms. 

In an interview with the opposition media outlet TV Rain, Mikhail Klimarev, head of the NGO Internet Protection Society, said that Telegram would be the first in line on the chopping block, adding that the only question is whether it will be blocked outright or gradually.

The Max messenger resembles China’s WeChat, in that it is a combination of messenger, social network, search engine, and payment system through which users can order food, book tickets, and schedule medical appointments. WeChat, however, has been repeatedly accused of censorship and surveillance.

According to Meduza, many Russian social media users believe that the Russian version will follow the same path, especially since VK has long and willingly cooperated with the Russian authorities.