r/europe 2d ago

News Kremlin-Mandated Messaging App Constantly Spies On Users

https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2025/08/26/kremlin-whatsapp-rival-is-designed-to-spy-on-users/
360 Upvotes

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115

u/Downtown-Sell5949 2d ago

So… just like the EU soon? Except it’s gonna be all apps and services.

36

u/Dacadey 2d ago

Russian here.

Yup, a very similar thing. Also with the same retarded justification - EU justifies it as “save the children”, Russia justifies it as “stop the cyberfraud on WhatsApp/Telegram”

15

u/beertown Italy 2d ago

To be honest, I think the Russian justification is less stupid.

24

u/TheElementofIrony Mount Doom (Russia) 2d ago

It's just as stupid because it's just as ineffective and just as much of a charade.

4

u/Baron_von_Ungern 2d ago

It would be if scammers weren't robbing people just as easily as if they tried to do the same thing on whatsapp and telegram. It's necessary to say that cyberfraud is much more often happens through regular phone calls and messages.

53

u/Dry_Row_7050 2d ago edited 2d ago

Yes, and when EU commission signs the UN cybercrime treaty in October (that was originally proposed by Russia in 2017 and adopted by UN in 2024) and it is ratified, EU countries become obliged to help Russia in tracking their citizens.

The convention will obligate governments to collect electronic evidence and share it with foreign authorities for any "serious crime,” defined as an offense punishable by at least four years of imprisonment under domestic law. Many governments treat activities protected by international human rights law as serious offenses, such as criticism of the government, peaceful protest, same-sex relationships, investigative journalism, and whistleblowing.

NGO’s aren’t the only ones to criticize the UN convention, even Cisco said it’s too broad and doesn’t even focus on hacking or cybersecurity

8

u/Significant_Court728 2d ago

Op meant the chat control law.

8

u/La_mer_noire France 2d ago edited 2d ago

No, EU wants your own devices to spy on you all the time with all the apps.

They only have bullshit ideas and this one is criminal.