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Russian regulator warned it would block WhatsApp

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It says it is taking steps to gradually restrict WhatsApp

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Thousands of Russians say they face outages, slowdowns

By Alexander Marrow and Andrew Osborn

LONDON, Dec 23 (Reuters) - WhatsApp criticised

restrictions to its service in Russia on Tuesday, accusing the

authorities of ‌trying to deprive more than 100 million Russians

of the right to private communications before the holiday

season.

WhatsApp's statement followed a ​repeat warning by Russia's

communications regulator that it would completely block WhatsApp

if it did not ‍comply with its demands to bring its services into

line with Russian ⁠law.

"WhatsApp continues to violate ⁠Russian law. The messenger is

used to organise and carry out terrorist acts on the territory

of the country, to ‌recruit their perpetrators and to commit

fraud and other ​crimes against our citizens," Roskomnadzor, the

regulator, told Russian state media.

It said it was taking measures to gradually restrict

WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms ( META ), as a ⁠result.

Thousands of Russians complained about outages and ‍slowdowns on

Tuesday, ​monitoring websites showed.

A DISPUTE WITH TECH PROVIDERS DEEPENED AFTER THE UKRAINE

INVASION

A dispute with foreign tech providers intensified after Moscow's

February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with Russia blocking Meta's

Facebook ‍and Instagram, slowing the speed of Alphabet's

YouTube and issuing hundreds of fines to platforms

that failed to comply with Russian rules on online content and

data storage.

"In restricting access to WhatsApp, the Russian government

aims to take away the right to private, end-to-end encrypted

communication from over 100 million people, right before the

holiday season in Russia," a WhatsApp spokesperson said.

"WhatsApp is ​deeply embedded ‍in the fabric of every

community in the country - from parent and workplace groups to

friends, neighborhood, and extended family chats across Russian

regions. We're committed to fighting ​for our users because

forcing people onto less secure and government-mandated apps can

only lead to less safety for Russian people."

RUSSIA MOVES AGAINST FOREIGN-OWNED PLATFORMS

Russia in August began limiting some calls on WhatsApp and on

Telegram, accusing the foreign-owned platforms of refusing to

share information with law enforcement in alleged fraud and

terrorism cases.

Russian authorities, who also block or restrict social media

platforms such as Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, are

heavily ​pushing a state-backed messenger app called MAX, which

critics say could be used to track users.

The authorities have dismissed those accusations as false

and say MAX, which integrates various government-related

services into it, is designed to simplify and improve the

everyday ‍lives of citizens.