Russia Aims to Launch State Messenger to Compete With App Giants
Russian authorities have already blocked Facebook and the X social media platform.
Photographer: Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty ImagesRussia plans to launch a state-run messaging application that aims to host some government services, giving existing platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram a homegrown competitor in the country.
President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday signed a law to create the platform, which is intended to facilitate document storage, messaging, banking and other public and commercial services. That would make it similar to China’s super-app WeChat.