Meta-owned WhatsApp says ‘Today the Russian government attempted to …’

Meta-owned WhatsApp has claimed that Russia has “attempted to fully block” the messaging platform. Sharing a post on microblogging platform X (formerly Twitter), WhatsApp alleged that the country is trying to “isolate over 100 million users from private and secure communication”. This comes amidst the ongoing tensions with foreign tech companies after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, per a Reuters report. Since then, Russian authorities have promoted a state-backed app called “MAX” as an alternative to foreign services.

“Today the Russian government attempted to fully block WhatsApp in an effort to drive people to a state-owned surveillance app.