Social media app icons are seen on a smartphone screen in this photo illustration on Oct. 18, 2025. Oleksii Pydsosonnii/The Epoch Times
Instant messaging platform WhatsApp, owned by Meta, has been blocked in Russia for failing to comply with local law, the Kremlin said on Thursday, following restrictions placed on Telegram earlier this week.
“Due to Meta’s unwillingness to comply with Russian law, such a decision was indeed made and implemented,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Feb. 12, suggesting that Russians switch to state-owned messenger app MAX instead.
