Russian lawmaker says WhatsApp should ‘prepare to leave’ the country

WhatsApp should “prepare to leave the Russian market,” Anton Gorelkin, deputy head of the State Duma’s Information Policy Committee, said on Friday.

Gorelkin warned that the Meta-owned messaging app is “very likely” to be added to a list of software from “unfriendly” countries that the government is compiling on President Vladimir Putin’s orders.

The lawmaker said it’s “obvious” who will step in to replace WhatsApp: Max, a domestic messaging app currently being developed by the Russian social media company VK.

As for Telegram, Russia’s second most popular messenger, Gorelkin predicted it would likely avoid being included on the “unfriendly software” list — “especially if it complies with Russian law and shows that it wants to stay on the market.” He noted that Telegram’s jurisdiction remains unclear: it’s registered in the British Virgin Islands, but its main office is located in the “quite friendly” United Arab Emirates.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, commenting on Gorelkin’s remarks, said that “laws must be followed.” While he acknowledged that WhatsApp is the most popular service in Russia, he emphasized that “like all services, it has certain obligations under Russian law. All laws must be followed.”