WhatsApp, YouTube Banned in Russia: Russian President Vladimir Putin has dealt a major blow to the US. After first banning Telegram, he has now begun taking action against other social media platforms. Russia has now issued an order to completely block WhatsApp, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.
Telegram was also banned a day ago. The Russian government is doing this to encourage people to use the indigenous government platform. Russia’s regulatory body, Roskomnadzor, had previously announced the Telegram ban, citing security concerns.
Now, major US social media platforms have also been banned. The domain names of these websites have been removed from Russia’s national domain name system.
International media organisations also banned
According to media reports, Vladimir Putin’s government has banned not only US social media apps but also global media organisations. Websites affected include the BBC, Deutsche Welle, Radio Free Europe, and Radio Liberty. At the same time, the Tor browser has also been blocked.