Russia’s communications regulator Roskomnadzor announced on Friday that it is preparing to impose a complete nationwide ban on WhatsApp, accusing the Meta-owned platform of refusing to cooperate with law enforcement and enabling criminal activity. The agency warned that unless the service fully complies with Russian legislation within an unspecified deadline, it will be “completely blocked” across the country.

WhatsApp remains one of the two dominant messaging applications in Russia, used by tens of millions despite the government already disabling voice and video calls on the platform in August. Roskomnadzor now demands unrestricted access to user correspondence for investigations into fraud, terrorism, and other crimes, a requirement the company has consistently rejected because of its end-to-end encryption policy.

In response, Meta accused Moscow of seeking to eliminate secure communication channels that citizens use to speak freely. “Russia is trying to ban WhatsApp because it defies government attempts to violate people’s right to private and secure communication,” the company said in a statement. Rights organisations warn that forcing access to encrypted chats would enable mass surveillance and the persecution of war critics, journalists and opposition activists.

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The Kremlin is aggressively promoting domestic alternatives, particularly the state-backed Max messenger, which lacks end-to-end encryption and is mandated to be pre-installed on every new smartphone and tablet sold in Russia. Authorities have framed the campaign as protection against foreign influence and crime, while simultaneously tightening control over the entire information space.

As tensions escalate, millions of Russian users face the prospect of losing access to a service many rely on for daily communication, business and staying in touch with relatives abroad. The threatened ban marks the latest chapter in Moscow’s long-running campaign to purge Western technology platforms and replace them with controllable national services.

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