WhatsApp Has Been Slowed Down In Russia

80%.

Russians have been experiencing problems with the messenger WhatsApp. According to the service "Failure.rf," over 2,100 complaints about the application's operation were received from 20 Russian regions during the partial day on December 22, compared to an average of 270 requests per day last week. The most complaints were sent by users from Moscow (58% of the total number), St. Petersburg (13%) and Moscow Region (8%). Problems were also reported by residents of the Kaliningrad, Vladimir, Sverdlovsk, Novosibirsk regions, Krasnodar Krai, Tatarstan, Karelia, etc.

According to a source RBC on the telecom market, from today Roskomnadzor has slowed down the messenger by 70-80%. Telecom operators have nothing to do with it, emphasized the interlocutor of the publication. As follows from the appeals of Russians on Downdetector, WhatsApp with the current level of slowdown notifications do not work correctly, there are freezes when loading, and there are also difficulties with sending text messages. In mid-August, Roskomnadzor officially announced the restriction of calls to WhatsApp and Telegram, explaining that they are used by scammers to "extort money" and "involve Russian citizens in subversive and terrorist activities." In late November, the oversight agency warned of a "phased" full blocking of WhatsApp. After that, mass disruptions in the messenger appeared in Siberia, the Urals and St. Petersburg.

Despite the growing pressure, WhatsApp continues to be the most popular messenger in Russia. According to Mediascope, it had more than 97 million unique users in August, up from last year. Telegram's audience in Russia at that time totaled 91 million people. At the same time, the average daily audience of the "national messenger" MAH, into which the authorities are driving Russians by blocking and other methods of coercion, amounted to only 45 million in mid-December.

The blocking of WhatsApp literally repeats the scenario with YouTube, which was implemented last year, the head of the Society for the Protection of the Internet, Mikhail Klirev, noted earlier Mikhail Klimarev. According to him, starting with temporary blockades, the authorities will gradually completely restrict the work of platforms outside the Kremlin's control in the country.

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