The probability that WhatsApp will be blocked in Russia is quite high, Andrei Svintsov, deputy chairman of the State Duma Information Policy Committee, told the parliamentary newspaper. To avoid this, the courier must comply with Russian laws, the deputy emphasized.
Author:
https://rb.ru/author/bmuzichenko/
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To confirm his words, Svintsov cited the situation with the blocking of Viber. Roskomnadzor restricted access to the messenger on December 13, explaining this as a violation of the requirements of Russian legislation, the implementation of which is necessary to “prevent threats to use the messenger for terrorist and extremist purposes.”
The vice-president of the Information Policy Committee, Oleg Matveychev, in conversation with the newspaper, stated that WhatsApp in Russia is used by extremist and terrorist organizations. “Whatsapp has no contact with our law enforcement agencies. They regularly create extremist chats and recruit people. That is why it is necessary to do something about it,” said the deputy.
He added that authorities want to understand “how prepared this service will be for cooperation.” “We have taken our step, now the ball is in WhatsApp’s court,” Matveychev concluded.
On December 19, Roskomnadzor added WhatsApp to the register of information dissemination organizers. On the same day, 11 more services were added to the list, including Skype. Platforms included in the registry must store user data, information about their actions, correspondence, photographs, audio and video calls and transfer them to the FSB upon request.
Previously, WhatsApp was repeatedly fined in Russia, including for refusing to localize Russians’ data and not removing information that was recognized as prohibited in the country.
Author:
Bogdan Muzychenko
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.
