Russian authorities are discussing the possible blocking of WhatsApp due to the appearance of a new functionality in the service. State Duma deputy Anton Gorelkin and head of the Defense and Security Committee of the Federation Council Viktor Bondarev reported that access to the popular messenger could be limited.
WhatsApp announced in June that channels will appear in Messenger with the next update. Administrators will be able to publish their content on them, these are text posts, photos and videos, as well as surveys and stickers.
In connection with the news about the update, Deputy Gorelkin said the day before that the position on the activities of the messenger could be reviewed.
On Thursday, Senator Bondarev expressed concern about the new functionality of the popular application in Russia. In his opinion, the appearance of channels on WhatsApp could endanger the security of citizens’ information.
“This path of development of the messenger can lead to its transformation into a means of information warfare and a source of falsifications about the Northern Military District, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the Russian government and the history of our country. Therefore, to develop mechanisms to combat these threats, the possibility of blocking the messenger should not be ruled out,” the senator wrote on his Telegram channel.
Bondarev considers Telegram, which also has channels, to be “friendly to the information space of the Russian Federation.” Also, as an alternative to WhatsApp, the member of the Federation Council suggests Yandex Messenger.
In his post, Bondarev referred to the experience of China, which blocked WhatsApp in 2017, and suggested that the Russian Federation should also think about a completely local messenger.
In March 2022, a Russian court recognized the American company Meta, owner of WhatsApp, as an extremist organization and banned its activities in the country.
However, an exception was made for WhatsApp: it was not blocked.
Author:
Natalia Gormaleva
Source: RB
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