Story perspectives

Putin bans foreign platforms, forces MAX messenger on phones

7/21/2026

Summary

Story summary

President Vladimir Putin ordered officials to restrict foreign internet platforms and criminalize extremist searches.
The new law could punish searches for LGBTQ+ material, opposition groups, songs and Navalny’s memoir.
Authorities have blocked Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Signal and throttled YouTube, VPNs and Cloudflare since last summer.
The state promotes the MAX messenger, which has over 2 million users and must be pre-installed on Russian smartphones.

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Story summary

President Vladimir Putin ordered officials to restrict foreign internet platforms and criminalize extremist searches.
The new law could punish searches for LGBTQ+ material, opposition groups, songs and Navalny’s memoir.
Authorities have blocked Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Signal and throttled YouTube, VPNs and Cloudflare since last summer.
The state promotes the MAX messenger, which has over 2 million users and must be pre-installed on Russian smartphones.