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   WhatsApp could soon be banned in Russia  here's all you need to know   
      
   Date:   
   Wed, 23 Jul 2025 15:09:59 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app in Russia, but "theres a    
   99-percent chance" authorities will kill it.   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   People in Russia may soon need to find a replacement for WhatsApp, the most   
   popular messaging app across the country.    
      
    Talking to Reuters on Friday, July 18, 2025, the Deputy Head of the Russian   
   parliament's Information Technology Committee, Anton Gorelkin, said that    
   "it's time for WhatsApp to prepare to leave the Russian market," adding that   
   Meta has been designated as an extremist organization in Russia.    
      
   On Tuesday, July 22, Russia passed a law to punish online searches for   
   so-called 'extremist' content, while adding new penalties to those using VPN   
   services.   
      
   How likely is WhatsApp to leave Russia?   
       
   Russian authorities haven't shared any details on how or when the WhatsApp    
   ban will be enforced.    
      
   That said, Meta, the provider behind WhatsApp, has already been designated as   
   an extremist organization, with two of its other services (Facebook and   
   Instagram) being banned since 2022 .    
      
   Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, however, also reiterated the fact that   
   WhatsApp "has certain duties under laws of the Russian Federation" that must   
   be fulfilled  Interfax reported .    
      
   Two more government sources have then confirmed to Meduza , a Russian   
   Independent media outlet, that "theres a 99-percent chance" the WhatsApp    
   block will happen.    
      
   The looming WhatsApp ban comes as the Kremlin is developing its own messaging   
   app with government services integrated. From September 2025, Max is set to    
   be installed on every device sold in Russia, the Independent reported .   
      
   Can a VPN help?   
      
   A virtual private network (VPN) encrypts users' internet connections while   
   spoofing their real IP address. The latter skill is generally used to bypass   
   this type of internet geo-blocking  something Russian authorities have been   
   trying to prevent for a long time.    
      
   From ever-sophisticated VPN blocking tactics, which make many VPN services   
   stop working, the Kremlin even criminalized the spread of information about   
   ways to circumvent internet restrictions in March 2024, forcing the likes of   
   Apple to remove some VPN apps from its official App Store.   
      
   Now, a new law further complicates things for VPN users. Starting from July   
   22, there are new penalties for people searching for and accessing "knowingly   
   extremist materials," including when they do that while connected to a VPN.    
      
   Furthermore, lawmakers have reportedly also adopted a provision that makes   
   using a VPN to access extremist content -- something that WhatsApp may be set   
   to become -- "a crime as an aggravating factor."   
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/whatsapp-could-soon-be-bann   
   ed-in-russia-heres-all-you-need-to-know   
      
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