The WhatsApp messenger will not launch channels in Russia, The Moscow Times has learned.
After Messenger decided to introduce channels in which administrators could publish texts, videos and images with the next update, in Russia they began to talk about a possible WhatsApp block. Both the State Duma and the Federation Council warned against such a measure.
As Meta* told the publication, “the product (WA Channels) will not be available to users in Russia in the near future.” The interlocutor noted that in the near future any user, except those who live in the Russian Federation, will be able to create their own channel.
In March 2022, a Russian court recognized the American company Meta*, owner of WhatsApp, as an extremist organization and banned its activities in the Russian Federation. But with WhatsApp an exception was made, they did not block it.
According to the TextBack service, the messenger is actively used by Russian companies. In the first five months of 2023, 55 million rubles were spent on correspondence with clients, 2.5 times more than the previous year.
*Meta is recognized in the Russian Federation as an extremist organization whose activities are prohibited.
Author:
Natalia Gormaleva
Source: RB
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
