Rights campaigners say restrictions on messaging apps are a transparent attempt to ramp up control and surveillance.
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Russia has blocked messaging service WhatsApp over alleged legal breaches, urging users to switch to a state-backed alternative in what is widely seen as a bid to clamp down on free speech amid the war in Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced the move on Thursday, attributing it to WhatsApp’s “reluctance to comply with the norms and letter of Russian law”.
