Viber opens office in Russia under grounding law

MOSCOW. Jan 17 (Interfax) - The Viber messenger, which is owned by the Japanese holding Rakuten, has opened an office in Russia to comply with the grounding law, which took effect in January 2022, the company's press service told Interfax.

"The Viber messenger has opened an office in Russia to comply with the legislation. Viber previously did not have a legal entity," the press service said.

According to data from the site of Russia's telecoms watchdog Roskomnadzor, Viber has already registered an account on the regulator's portal to comply with the law. The other two requirements - the placement of an electronic feedback form on their Internet resources and the creation of a branch or a Russian legal entity - are currently marked as unfulfilled. Roskomnadzor told Interfax it currently does not have information on this matter.