Russia is weighing a Google Meet ban as part of its tech crackdown, while promoting its state-backed Max app.
Russia is considering a ban on Google Meet as part of its ongoing crackdown on foreign technology platforms, according to reports by The Moscow Times. The federal media regulator, Roskomnadzor, has already blocked voice and video calls on WhatsApp and Telegram, prompting users to migrate to Google Meet, which has since grown in popularity.
Although Google Meet recently suffered widespread disruptions, Roskomnadzor denied responsibility. “Roskomnadzor has not taken any measures to restrict the operation of the Google Meet video conferencing service in Russia,” the agency told Interfax. Andrei Svintsov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, added, “However, applications that can monitor our citizens, transfer information to Western special services, may well be blocked.”
Industry observers believe the move aligns with Russia’s push for Max, a WeChat-style state-backed app that will come pre-installed on all new smartphones from September. Max, still in testing, already has 18 million users.