The dissemination of Max could increase the surveillance of Russian citizens
The Russian government will require the application of MAX messaging, which is supported by Kremlin, be pre-installed in all smartphones and tablets that are sold in Russia. It is a measure that can increase the state surveillance of Russian citizens.
According to an official statement issued Thursday, Max will be installed on the devices from September 1. The same will happen with the Rustore platform, an Apple’s Russian rival rival, which will also be preinstalled on iPhones. In addition, from January 1, the Lime HD TV program, which allows free access to Russian state television channels, will also be automatically installed on that country’s smart televisions.
Max was launched in March by the VK social networking group, which is controlled by the state. It has replaced VK Messenger, which has been on the government’s mandatory application list since 2023.
This new application allows users to send messages, make audio and video calls or send money. For the future new features are planned, including a travel reserve tool, VK said in its latest results report.
About 18 million people have registered with Max since its launch, according to the state news agency Tass this week, citing the application press office.
Russian repression to foreign social networks
MAX is similar to the Wechat application, which is huge success in China, offering users a unique channel to send messages, publish on social networks and make payments and reservations. Wechat users’ activity will be most likely under Chinese state surveillance, experts already heard by CNN.
At the same time, Russia has taken steps to limit the use of some foreign messaging services.
Russia has already banned Facebook, Instagram and X. Earlier this month, the Russian Media Regulator announced limitations on voice calls by WhatsApp and Telegram to “fight criminals.” WhatsApp came to accuse Russia of trying to block access to the application to its about 100 million Russian users.
Unlike Max, WhatsApp and Telegram offer point to point encryption, preventing third parties from having access to user data.
Russia has sought to make it increasingly difficult to use foreign social networking applications, observed Anastasiia Kruoope, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, in a report published in July.
“This, along with the active promotion of state-sponsored Russian alternatives, forced a growing number of users to move to Russian browsers and social networks,” wrote Kruoope.
Also Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan, researchers at the Washington-based European Policy Analysis Center, DC, wrote last month that the “sustained attack” to WhatsApp was part of Kremlin’s efforts “to press Russians to move from Whatsapp to Max.”
“It is likely that this policy works, especially if the population has no choice,” they have gathered.
VK, owner of Max, was co -founded by Pavel Durov, the Russian multimillionaire at the origin of Telegram in 2006. Durov was forced to leave the position of Executive President in 2014, after several discussions with the Russian state related to censorship and his refusal to deliver user data.
VK current executive president Vladimir Kiriyenko is the son of Putin’s first chief of staff, Sergey Kiriyenko.
Caitlin Danaher, Mitchell McCluskey, Katharina Krebs and Anna Chernova, from CNN, contributed to this article
