Unlike Telegram, which also has a channel creation function, WhatsApp risks being blocked in Russia due to the Russophobic position of the top management of the parent company Meta (which is recognized as extremist and banned in Russia). About this on your Telegram channel Wrote First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee.
“I will explain: WhatsApp is owned by the company Meta, which is officially recognized as an extremist organization in the Russian Federation. Let me remind you that this happened as a result of Meta’s top management taking an openly Russophobic stance, actually encouraging people to post calls to kill Russian citizens on their social networks,” Gorelkin said.
In his opinion, it was quite logical that Instagram (the owner of the Meta company is known as an extremist and was banned in Russia) and Facebook (the owner of the Meta company is known as an extremist and was banned in Russia) were subsequently blocked. The attorney general’s office was guided by federal law on combating extremism. WhatsApp was blocked at that time due to Messenger not having social networking functions in the form of channels.
“So far WhatsApp has not offered any new functionality to Russian users. We will soon find out whether this will happen and what the Attorney General’s response will be. But according to current law enforcement logic, this [блокировка] It needs to happen, and most of my colleagues agree with that,” the deputy concluded.
Meta Corporation announced the opening of WhatsApp channels on the evening of September 13, 2023. The new function is expected to be launched in 150 countries, including Russia, in the coming months.
Previously, the possibility of WhatsApp being blocked in Russia if the channels are opened accepted and in the Federation Council.