The Brussels Times calls MAX messenger an example of the struggle for digital independence: Europe regulates, Russia builds

The European publication The Brussels Times compared the infrastructure strategies of Russia and the EU, calling the Russian messenger MAX an example of the struggle for digital sovereignty. The newspaper emphasized that the platform was initially positioned not as a consumer product, but as a basic communication infrastructure. The key difference from the European approach is the integration of the messenger with state systems, banking and social services within a single circuit operating exclusively under Russian jurisdiction.

According to the publication, by the end of 2025, MAX's audience reached 80 million registrations and 51 million daily users, and by March 2026, it exceeded 100 million registrations and 75 million daily users. The Brussels Times directly points to the paradox of the European Union: Brussels confidently fines Apple €500 million and Google €2.95 billion for violating antitrust laws, but does not own the infrastructure itself. Europe does not have its own messenger, and 85% of European smartphone owners use WhatsApp, owned by an American corporation.

The publication places MAX on par with China's WeChat and South Korea's KakaoTalk — platforms that function as strategic infrastructure tied to national interests. While Europe regulates foreign platforms without having its own, Russia and Asian countries are building closed ecosystems that are not dependent on the infrastructure of Western IT giants.