Putin blocks WhatsApp: Russia closer to a “digital gulag”

MoscowVladimir Putin had been plotting this for some time, but it wasn't until this week that he finally made his move. Without warning, Russia has begun blocking WhatsApp and Telegram, the country's two most popular messaging services. This is just one more step on the path the Kremlin started years ago, accelerated by the war and which has gained momentum in recent months, to build a "sovereign internet"—that is, to disconnect Russians from the rest of the world. to further restrict freedom of expression

At this point, these two apps are unusable for approximately 63% of the population, some 93 million people. The official reason is that the two platforms have become the main entry points for scammers. The only way to use them is with the help of a VPN, a system that allows you to connect to the internet from a server in another country and bypass the Russian authorities' block. However, it doesn't always work, and while the Russian government hasn't yet found a way to ban them, experts warn that they will be increasingly restricted.

As digital rights activist Sarkis Darbinian explained to ARA, WhatsApp's shutdown was "just a matter of time" because "it doesn't fit with the plans for internet sovereignty." It belongs to Meta, a company that is considered extremist in Russia, which refused to share data with the secret services and had already seen Facebook and Instagram blocked. As for Telegram, despite being owned by a Russian businessman, it's "very annoying" because you can find "everything prohibited on the official internet" there.

Max, the secret services' dream

The timing is no coincidence. The Russian government has just launched its own chat tool, Max. The campaign to impose it on Russians has been relentless. Since September 1st, all new phones have come with it pre-installed; it is intended to be a requirement for accessing state services. In some regions, civil servants are being forced to advertise it, and even the families of missing Russian soldiers have been required to install it to identify their bodies.

However, the authorities have encountered unexpected resistance from the public. Several polls show that 70% of Russians oppose the blocking of Telegram and WhatsApp, while only 34% are willing to download Max. The implementation of the new application in schools, planned since the start of the academic year, varies from institution to institution, but in some universities, students face expulsion if they refuse to comply. This week, at the Polzunov State College in Yekaterinburg, the principal accused students who refuse to download the app of "sabotaging the educational process." Many users fear that, once installed, the app will access mobile data without permission. Researchers from the human rights group RKS Global have analyzed its operation and concluded that, for now, Max does not track devices or engage in surreptitious use, but they do not rule out the possibility that this could change in the future. In fact, they recommend "not sending confidential correspondence or sensitive documents" because "it has significant surveillance potential" and "government agencies can access all the information and correspondence it stores in real time." In other words, the intelligence services, such as the FSB, have the ability to obtain conversations from Russians' phones whenever they want.

Whitelists

According to activists, the Kremlin's ultimate goal is to "silence conversations about any sensitive topic." Darbinian describes it as a "digital gulag," characterized by "complete control of the digital sphere," and warns about the creation of "whitelists." Until now, Russia has operated with a system of "blacklists," that is, with an agency, Roskomnadzor, that systematically censors online resources—it has more than a million blocked. In contrast, the whitelist system, which exists in countries like Iran, only allows access to certain websites chosen by the government. Authorities have taken advantage of the frequent internet outages caused by Ukrainian drone attacks to implement these whitelists, which include, among other services, Max. Thus, this week in Krasnodar, after three days without internet access, the mayor encouraged citizens to download the app to be able to communicate with family and friends. And that's just the beginning: the Duma has already warned that the horizon within a few years is that no one will be able to browse the internet anonymously, and has made it clear that the entire regime is rowing in unison towards the "digital gulag".