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Fast Company
an hour ago
- Fast Company
Russia restricts WhatsApp and Telegram calls
Russian authorities announced Wednesday they were 'partially' restricting calls in messaging apps Telegram and WhatsApp, the latest step in an effort to tighten control over the internet. In a statement, government media and internet regulator Roskomnadzor justified the measure as necessary for fighting crime, saying that 'according to law enforcement agencies and numerous appeals from citizens, foreign messengers Telegram and WhatsApp have become the main voice services used to deceive and extort money, and to involve Russian citizens in sabotage and terrorist activities.' The regulator also alleged that 'repeated requests to take countermeasures have been ignored by the owners of the messengers.' There was no immediate comment from either platform. Russian authorities have long engaged in a deliberate and multi-pronged effort to rein in the internet. Over the years, they have adopted restrictive laws and banned websites and platforms that won't comply. Technology has been perfected to monitor and manipulate online traffic. While it's still possible to circumvent restrictions by using virtual private network services, those are routinely blocked, too. Authorities further restricted internet access this summer with widespread shutdowns of cellphone internet connections. Officials have insisted the measure was needed to thwart Ukrainian drone attacks, but experts argued it was another step to tighten internet control. Russia's Digital Development and Communications Ministry said this month that along with internet providers, it was working on a 'white list' of essential websites and services users could access during shutdowns. In Crimea, which Moscow illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, Russian-installed officials said Wednesday that shutdowns of cellphone internet may last indefinitely. The government adopted a law last month punishing users for searching for content they deem illicit and threatened to go after WhatsApp — one of the most popular platforms in the country — while rolling out a new 'national' messaging app that's widely expected to be heavily monitored. Reports that calls were being disrupted in WhatsApp and Telegram appeared in Russian media earlier this week, with users complaining about calls not going through or not being able to hear each other speak. According to Russian media monitoring service Mediascope, WhatsApp in July was the most popular platform in Russia, with over 96 million monthly users. Telegram, with more than 89 million users, came a close second. Both platforms had their run-ins with the Russian authorities in the past. The Kremlin tried to block Telegram between 2018-20 but failed. After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the government blocked major social media like Facebook and Instagram, and outlawed their parent company, Meta, that also owns WhatsApp, as extremist. In July, lawmaker Anton Gorelkin said WhatsApp 'should prepare to leave the Russian market,' and a new 'national' messenger, MAX, developed by Russian social media company VK, would take its place. MAX, promoted as a one-stop shop for messaging, online government services, making payments and more, was rolled out for beta tests but has yet to attract a wide following. Over 2 million people registered by July, the Tass news agency reported. Its terms and conditions say it will share user data with authorities upon request, and a new law stipulates its preinstallation in all smartphones sold in Russia. State institutions, officials and businesses are actively encouraged to move communications and blogs to MAX. The Digital Development and Communications Ministry said access to calls via WhatsApp and Telegram may be reinstated if the platforms 'comply with Russian legislation.' It clarified that the partial restrictions, announced by Roskomnadzor, applied only to audio calls.
Gizmodo
2 hours ago
- Gizmodo
‘Are You Surprised?': Trump Shrugs Off New Suspected Hack of Documents by Russia
President Donald Trump was asked on Wednesday about the recent hack of a computer system that holds highly sensitive federal court documents. Russia is suspected to be behind the attack, as the New York Times first reported on Tuesday. But Trump doesn't seem to think it was a big deal, even as the president prepares to meet with Russia's President Vladimir Putin. Trump was asked by a reporter if he would bring up the hack when he meets Putin in Alaska on Friday. 'I guess I could,' Trump replied without committing to anything. 'Are you surprised, you know? Are you surprised they hack in? That's what they do.' Trump went on to say, 'They're good at it. We're good at it. We're actually better at it, but, no, I have heard about it. I have heard about it.' The president has a long history of brushing off attacks on the U.S. as insignificant because America has done the same kinds of things to its adversaries. And while that's true, it's not the kind of thing U.S. presidents typically say to excuse attacks on the U.S. and subsequent inaction. Trump recently went so far as to admit that he gave Iran permission to bomb a U.S. base in Qatar, suggesting that's just the kind of thing that should be allowed. 'They said, 'We're going to shoot them. Is one o'clock OK?' I said it's fine,' Trump said during a press conference in June. 'And everybody was emptied off the base so they couldn't get hurt, except for the gunners.' It's easy to imagine how Republicans would've responded if a president like Barack Obama or Joe Biden gave another country a green light to attack the U.S. The New York Times describes the hack of the federal court records as a 'yearslong effort,' and it's not clear which specific entity may have been involved. It's also not clear if any countries besides Russia or known hacking groups may have contributed to the effort. An internal memo to the U.S. Department of Justice from system administrators of the system, known as PACER, describes the hack as 'persistent and sophisticated,' compromising 'sealed records' that are not otherwise available to the public. REPORTER: There's new reporting that Russians have hacked into computer systems that manage US federal courts documents. Do you plan to bring it up with Putin? TRUMP: I guess I could. Are you surprised? They hack in — what's what they do [image or embed] — Aaron Rupar (@ August 13, 2025 at 9:03 AMThe compromised records come from court districts in a variety of states, including New York, South Dakota, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, and Arkansas, according to the Times. The attempts to infiltrate the federal court records system date to at least January 2021, according to a press release from that era. That release was published on Jan. 6, 2021, the day of Trump's coup attempt at the U.S. Capitol, though it's not clear if the attacks are in any way related to Russia's preference for Trump as president. Russia was not named as the entity trying to access sensitive court documents at the time, but the Times reports that federal law enforcement officials believed Russia was behind it. Trump is scheduled to meet with Putin on Friday, though he accidentally said he was going to Russia during a press conference on Tuesday: 'You know, I'm going to see Putin. I'm going to Russia on Friday. I don't like being up here, talking about how unsafe and how dirty and disgusting this once-beautiful capital [is].' Trump, whose mind often seems to be slipping (he referred to St. Petersburg as 'Leningrad' on Wednesday), is actually meeting the Russian leader at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage. The presidents will be discussing ways to end the war in Ukraine, which has been raging ever since Russia first invaded in early 2022. Trump promised to stop the war even before he was sworn into office, though that obviously didn't happen. Trump was asked by a reporter whether he would request that Putin stop bombing civilians, to which he replied 'No,' insisting that he'd already had that discussion with the Russian leader. President Trump instead insisted that he was just going to end the war, something he described as 'Biden's war,' as he often does to escape accountability for his failure to bring an end to the conflict. REPORTER: Can you convince Putin to stop targeting civilians in Ukraine? TRUMP: I guess the answer to that is no, because I've had this conversation. I want to end the war. [image or embed] — Aaron Rupar (@ August 13, 2025 at 9:33 AMTrump then pivoted to talking about what he called the 'Russia hoax,' a reference to the extensive contacts his campaign had with Russian operatives in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election and subsequent investigations. By his own admission, Putin wanted Trump to become president, something Trump has denied so frequently that many apolitical observers assume it must be true. Trump had even publicly encouraged Putin to hack into Hillary Clinton's emails in July of 2016, something the Russians eventually did successfully. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, had a call with Trump and European leaders on Wednesday morning before Trump's press conference at the Kennedy Center. Zelensky has been excluded from the Friday meeting with Putin, but Trump said that he'll include Ukraine in the discussions if it goes well. 'If the first one goes okay, we'll have a quick second one,' Trump said. 'I would like to do it almost immediately, and we'll have a quick second meeting between President Putin and President Zelensky, and myself, if they'd like to have me there.'
Washington Post
3 hours ago
- Washington Post
Russia restricts calls via WhatsApp and Telegram, the latest step to control the internet
Russian authorities announced Wednesday they were 'partially' restricting calls in messaging apps Telegram and WhatsApp, the latest step in an effort to tighten control over the internet . In a statement, government media and internet regulator Roskomnadzor justified the measure as necessary for fighting crime, saying that 'according to law enforcement agencies and numerous appeals from citizens, foreign messengers Telegram and WhatsApp have become the main voice services used to deceive and extort money, and to involve Russian citizens in sabotage and terrorist activities.'
