Russia Blocked Viber For Violating State Laws

Russia has recently taken a significant step towards restricting user communications within its boundaries by blocking the popular messaging app Viber. The decision was made due to alleged law violations, leading to the app being inaccessible for users in the country.

After Other Apps And VPNs, Russia Has Blocked Viber Too

Reports indicate that Russia has enforced a ban on Viber, citing legal violations related to the content hosted on the platform.

Roskomnadzor, the Russian watchdog, stated that Viber had failed to comply with legal requests to remove criminal content, resulting in the restriction of the app’s service in the country.

Access to the Viber service is restricted due to the violation of the requirements of Russian legislation for organizers of information dissemination.

Viber, being one of the most widely used messaging apps in Russia with over 17 million daily users, will now impact the daily communications of a significant user base.

The allegations made by the agency regarding objectionable content on Viber range from drug sales and terrorism to the dissemination of misinformation. The lack of moderation by Viber prompted the authorities to take action and restrict the app’s operations within the country.

Compliance with the requirements is necessary to prevent threats of using the messenger for terrorist and extremist purposes, recruiting citizens to commit them, selling drugs, as well as in connection with the posting of illegal information.

Despite the recent ban, Viber was already under scrutiny by the Russian authorities for not aligning with the regime’s preferences. The app was fined last year for various violations, including the publication of prohibited content.

Anton Nemkin, a member of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications, highlighted the potential misuse of Viber by criminals for recruiting purposes due to its secure and encrypted communication features.

Foreign intelligence agencies can use Viber to recruit people, since this messenger allows anonymous and secure communication with potential candidates. Encryption of messages in Viber allows minimizing the risk of interception of correspondence, which makes this channel convenient for this kind of operations. In this case, teenagers most often become victims.

Russia’s actions against Viber follow previous bans on encrypted messaging app Signal and VPN service providers, indicating a trend towards stricter control over digital freedom in the country.

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