RKN allowed WhatsApp to be blocked for refusing to delete “unfriendly channels”
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Roskomnadzor may block WhatsApp (part of the Meta corporation, a recognized extremist corporation) if the messenger refuses to delete “unfriendly channels,” the agency reported.
“The appearance of unfriendly channels with prohibited information will immediately entail a requirement for their removal, and if they refuse, they will be blocked,” Roskomnadzor said (quote according to RIA Novosti).
The department emphasized that the legal requirements apply to all companies that operate in the country and focus on Russian users. The measures that will be taken in case of violations depend on the administrations of the companies and their decisions, Roskomnadzor added.
On September 13, WhatsApp announced the global launch of the Channels feature in over 150 countries. After this, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy Anton Gorelkin admitted review of the decision on the operation of WhatsApp in Russia if the messenger begins to “expand its functionality towards mass dissemination of information.”
Head of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security Viktor Bondarev also admitted temporary blocking of the messenger. He noted that after the launch of the channels, WhatsApp will turn into a “means of information warfare” and a source of fakes about the special operation and the Russian Armed Forces. Chairman of the Duma Committee on Information Policy Alexander Khinshtein also said that if Russian-language channels are launched, it will be necessary to reconsider “the attitude towards the messenger, even blocking it.”
On March 21, 2022, the Tverskoy Court of Moscow recognized the American company Meta as an extremist organization and banned its activities in Russia. Instagram and Facebook were blocked, but the ban did not extend to the messenger.
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