WhatsApp is now blocked in Russia, which means that more than 100 million people who use it cannot anymore unless they use a VPN. And even with VPN it's a cat and mouse game because the government is blocking any VPN they can spot.
Russia's government claims that Meta, the company that owns WhatsApp, refuses to comply with the country's laws. They keep saying that WhatsApp is full of criminals and scams and therefore they wish to have some power over what happens with that app. But Meta disagrees and believes the purpose of this action by Russia is to deter people from using WhatsApp and instead use MAX, a new messaging application created by them that will let them read everything you send or receive. Essentially it is called a surveillance application.
The next target for Russia's government is also Telegram, they have started slowing down the app's functionality.
What blows my mind is how easy it is for governments to enact regulations like this and then expect people just to accept those regulations. People typically do accept them, whether it is by using a VPN, changing their messaging app or just cutting off communication with certain people altogether. Life will go on, they don't have much of a choice in this situation.
According to the Kremlin, they might lift the ban on WhatsApp if Meta will agree to comply with the regulations they set forth. That sounds fair, until you realize those regulations mean they will hand over any private communications requests made to them.
This whole thing reminds me of when different countries try to block social media when there are protests taking place, and it never works out like they want it to, but they keep trying it anyway. People eventually do find ways to work around these issues, nonetheless, the added control over social media should not even exist in the first place.
That's why blockchain and decentralized apps are also necessary for more freedom. It's not impossible to block them but it's more complicated.