Viber messenger blocked in Russia: what is the reason?

Roskomnadzor claims that the restriction was introduced to prevent threats related to “terrorist and extremist” activities.

Access to the popular messenger Viber has been restricted in the Russian Federation due to “non-compliance with the requirements of Russian legislation” regarding the posting of “prohibited information”. 

This is reported by The Moscow Times with reference to the Russian state supervisory body Roskomnadzor.

“Access to the Viber service is restricted due to violation of the requirements of Russian legislation regarding organizers of information dissemination”, — the Russian censorship agency reported.

Roskomnadzor claims that the restriction was introduced to prevent threats related to “terrorist and extremist” activities, recruiting citizens, distributing drugs, and posting other prohibited information.

Rakuten Viber Messenger was developed in 2010 by Israeli entrepreneurs Igor Magazinnik and Talmon Mark. The service is owned by Viber Media, a company registered in Luxembourg, where its head office is located. 

In January 2022, in accordance with the Russian law “on landing”, Viber opened a representative office in Russia.

In the summer of 2023, a Moscow court fined Viber 1 million rubles for failing to remove “fakes” about the Russian army. Company representatives stated at the hearing that the disputed information was posted in Ukrainian, but it was still removed from search in the Russian Federation. At the same time, Viber emphasized the lack of technical ability to delete entire communities.

On March 13 of this year, the Tagansky Court of Moscow again fined Viber for failure to remove prohibited content, imposing a fine of 800 thousand rubles on the company.