WhatsApp’s position may be revised – Kommersant

The decision on the operation of WhatsApp (owned by Meta, which is recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation and is banned) may be revised due to an update of the functionality of the messenger. About this in your Telegram channel wrote Deputy and Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy Anton Gorelkin.

“If the product of the extremist company Meta begins to expand its functionality towards mass dissemination of information, the official position regarding its activities on the territory of the Russian Federation may be revised,” Mr. Gorelkin said.

In June, when the company announced innovations, Anton Gorelkin wrote, that “producers and distributors of fakes and propaganda will soon have a new tool.” After this, the head of the Ministry of Digital Development of Russia Maksut Shadayev saidthat the issue of blocking WhatsApp is not discussed and there are no prerequisites for this.

In March 2022, the Prosecutor General’s Office blocked Meta products, but left WhatsApp as an exception, explaining that the messenger is a means of communication, not a source of information.

On September 13, WhatsApp released an update, thanks to which channels similar to Telegram appeared in the messenger. By the end of the year, according to the company, the update will be available to users from 150 countries.

Petr Buzlaev