A senior Russian lawmaker has warned that WhatsApp should prepare to exit the Russian market, as the country moves to restrict foreign software and promote state-backed alternatives.

Anton Gorelkin, deputy head of the State Duma’s information technology committee, said Friday that Meta-owned WhatsApp is likely to be added to a list of restricted applications, citing national security concerns. “It’s time for WhatsApp to prepare to leave the Russian market,” Gorelkin wrote on Telegram, pointing to Meta’s classification in Russia as an “extremist” organisation.

President Vladimir Putin last month signed a law backing the development of a national messaging platform called MAX, which is expected to integrate government services. The move is part of a broader push for “digital sovereignty” and reducing reliance on Western tech platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram. WhatsApp is currently used by 68% of Russians on a daily basis.

Another lawmaker, Anton Nemkin, said WhatsApp’s continued operation in Russia represents a “legal breach of national security,” according to state-run TASS.

The Kremlin has ordered further restrictions on the use of software developed in “unfriendly” countries—those that have imposed sanctions on Russia. Putin set a compliance deadline of September 1. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said all services must obey Russian law.

Critics warn that the new state-backed app could be used to monitor users. Some speculate the government may throttle WhatsApp’s performance to encourage migration to local alternatives—an approach already used against YouTube, whose Russian daily users dropped from over 40 million to under 10 million in the past year due to slower access.

Meanwhile, shares in VK, the state-linked tech company behind MAX and YouTube competitor VK Video, rose 1.9% on Friday amid growing investor confidence in Russia’s tech nationalism strategy.