The expert stated about spying on states in Telegram and WhatsApp

Telegram and WhatsApp messengers (owned by Meta, recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation) are used to spy on states outside the Western bloc. Alexey Rayevsky, the founder and CEO of Zecurion, told Izvestia on August 21.

He noted that WhatsApp provides access to the information it collects to foreign intelligence agencies, which raises serious concerns.

"Even if the contents of correspondence and conversations remain inaccessible, meta-information, including geolocation data, can reveal a lot of information about users," the expert noted.

In addition, Sergei Boyarsky, chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technologies and Communications, co-chairman of the Central Committee of Supporters of the United Russia Party, added that Telegram and WhatsApp do not sufficiently comply with the requirements of Russian legislation. He focused on aspects such as data localization and interaction with law enforcement agencies.

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On August 14, Anton Nemkin, a member of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy and federal coordinator of the Digital Russia party project, reported that more than 52,000 offenses committed on WhatsApp and Telegram messengers had been registered by law enforcement officials since the beginning of this year, and the amount of damage from these offenses amounted to more than 106 billion rubles. He clarified that it is through these messengers that Russians are contacted in order to attract them to commit sabotage on transport, to carry out bombings or arson.

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