WhatsApp refused to launch channels in Russia due to the threat of blocking – Kommersant
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The WhatsApp messenger (owned by Meta, recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation) has changed its mind about launching a channel service in Russia – WA Channels. WhatsApp introduced the Channels feature on September 12. After this, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy Anton Gorelkin admittedthat the position on the work of the messenger in Russia may be revised.
“The product will not be available to users inside Russia in the near future,” a Meta representative told The Moscow Times. According to him, in the coming weeks the messenger will give the opportunity to anyone who wants to create their own channel, but not to users from Russia.
After WhatsApp became able to create channels, Roskomnadzor stated about the threat of blocking the messenger if it begins to expand its functionality towards mass dissemination of information. The WhatsApp channel feature is currently available to users in more than 150 countries. 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.
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