WhatsApp can start again if Meta is ready to engage in a dialogue with the authorities and comply with Russian legislation, the presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov told TASS.
“If Meta Corporation complies with the law, it will enter into a dialogue with the Russian authorities and then an agreement will be possible“, Peskov said, answering questions about the fate of the messenger.
If the corporation continues to take the same “uncompromising position“ and ignore Russian legislation, “then there is no chance“, he stressed.
On February 11, Cnews reported that WhatsApp had disappeared from Roskomnadzor's DNS servers, which allows it to completely block access to the messenger. According to experts interviewed by RBC, the reason for deleting the WhatsApp domain is technical. Roskomnadzor's equipment cannot simultaneously restrict YouTube, Telegram and WhatsApp, so it is necessary to "clean up resources", the sources explained.
In December, Roskomnadzor warned that WhatsApp continues to violate Russian law, which could lead to a complete blocking of the platform. The messaging app has stated its intention to fight for its Russian audience. In January, the agency said it saw no reason to lift restrictions on WhatsApp.