Moscow: The chances of the WhatsApp messenger owned by Meta (banned in Russia for extremism) being blocked in 2025 in Russia will increase if its leadership does not comply with Russian legislation, Deputy Chairman of the Council for the Development of the Digital Economy at the Russian Federation Council Artem Sheikin told Sputnik on Monday.
“If the messenger does not fulfill certain requirements and obligations, the probability of it being blocked may increase. The development of the WhatsApp situation in Russia in 2025 will depend on the position of the messenger’s management on the issue of storing information about users and correspondence and providing it at the request of the Federal Security Service. It is important that foreign companies understand that by carrying out their activities on the territory of the Russian Federation, they will need to comply with the legislation of our country, otherwise their work will be impossible,” Sheikin said.
If WhatsApp fulfills the requirements of Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor and continues to operate in Russia, “nothing will change for users,” the official said.
“The obligations to comply with the requirements of the legislation fall on the messenger, which must organize the storage on the territory of the Russian Federation of information about the reception, transmission, delivery of voice information, written text, images, sounds or other electronic messages from users, as well as provide this information to authorized government agencies engaged in operational investigative activities or ensuring the security of the Russian Federation,” the senator said.
Meanwhile, head of the State Duma Committee on the Informational Policy Sergey Boyarsky told Sputnik that he had no information on the possible blocking of WhatsApp.
“The fact that they were included in the register of organizers of information dissemination does not mean anything,” he added.
Lawmaker Sergey Kolunov also said that the lawmakers have no information about the blocking of WhatsApp, the fall session has ended and the issue was not raised in the recent plenary sessions. He also added that this issue is not in the competence of the State Duma, but relates to the work of Roskomnadzor.
