“Due to Meta’s unwillingness to comply with Russian law, such a decision was indeed made and implemented,” Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters, proposing that Russians switch to MAX, Russia’s state-owned messenger.

“MAX is an accessible alternative, a developing messenger, a national messenger, and it is available on the market for citizens as an alternative,” said Peskov.

Critics say MAX is a surveillance tool, something the authorities deny. The move against WhatsApp is the culmination of six months of pressure on the US company and reflects a wider push by the Russian authorities at a time of war to create and control a “sovereign” communications infrastructure in which foreign-owned tech companies submit to local laws or disappear.

–Reuters–