The Federation Council allowed WhatsApp to be blocked due to news channels

If obvious threats to information security arise due to the appearance of news channels on WhatsApp (part of the recognized extremist Meta corporation), the messenger may be temporarily blocked. About it stated Head of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security Viktor Bondarev in his Telegram channel.

“The exception that was previously made for this messenger should be revised, and in the event of potential but clear threats, it itself should be temporarily blocked if it cannot be brought under control,” he wrote.

Bondarev explained that with the advent of news channels, the messenger could turn into a “means of information warfare” and a source of fakes about special operations and the Russian Armed Forces.

“Therefore, working out mechanisms to combat these threats and the possibility of blocking the messenger should not be ruled out,” he added.

The senator also drew attention to existing alternatives in the form of “Yandex Messenger and Telgram, as well as the experience of China, which banned WhatsApp back in 2017, whose citizens use local WeChat.

“Maybe we in the Russian Federation should think about a completely local messenger, because it is reasonable, timely and promising,” he concluded.

On September 13, WhatsApp announced the global launch of the Channels feature in over 150 countries. The messenger indicates a high level of privacy – outsiders will not be able to see the channels to which the user has subscribed. Information about admins and subscribers will also be protected. 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.”

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.

On June 16, the head of the Ministry of Digital Development, Maksut Shadayev, on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) notedthat the issue of blocking the messenger in Russia is not discussed and there are no prerequisites for this. On June 20, he made a statement that there are no plans to limit instant messengers for personal communication.