The messaging apps Telegram and WhatsApp* will not be blocked in Russia, even following the restrictions imposed on Viber. This was reported by Eldar Murtazin, a leading analyst at Mobile Research Group, in an interview with aif.ru. “Telegram and WhatsApp are unlikely to be blocked. In 2022, when Facebook and Instagram were blocked, and Meta was declared an extremist organization, WhatsApp was not banned. It was retained because a large number of elderly people use it. This helped avoid social tension,” the expert explained. Murtazin also mentioned that Viber was a favorite among fraudsters. Roskomnadzor introduced restrictions on accessing the Viber messaging app. The agency clarified that this decision was related to violations of Russian Federation legislation requirements imposed on information distribution organizers.