RKN threatened to block WhatsApp channels with prohibited information

Roskomnadzor will demand that WhatsApp (owned by Meta, which is recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation) delete channels with prohibited information. Refusal may result in the application being blocked in the country. This was stated by the department’s press service.

“The appearance of unfriendly channels with prohibited information will immediately lead to a requirement for their removal and, if they refuse, to blocking,” the department reported (quoted from “Interfax”).

Roskomnadzor recommended that Russian users and organizations switch “to domestic services that operate in Russian jurisdiction and comply with Russian legislation.”

The department also recalled that the laws apply to all companies, including instant messengers and social networks, that operate in Russia. “The application of measures for non-compliance with the laws of the Russian Federation directly depends on the administrations of such companies and the decisions they make,” Roskomnadzor clarified.

On September 12, WhatsApp announced the launch of the channels feature. Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy Anton Gorelkin after this statedthat the position on the work of the messenger in Russia may be revised. Meta products have been blocked in Russia since March 2022. For WhatsApp, the Prosecutor General’s Office made an exception, explaining that the messenger is a means of communication, and not a source of posting information.

Petr Buzlaev