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MOSCOW, September 26 The WhatsApp messenger will not launch public channels in Russia after warnings about blocking, State Duma deputy Anton Gorelkin wrote in the Telegram channel.
«My prediction is coming true: WhatsApp will not open the functionality of public channels for Russian users. However, there has been no official announcement yet, and they preferred to leak the information through a Dutch newspaper with reference to an unnamed representative of Meta*,» he explained.
The politician added that the company’s caveat that the update will not be available in Russia “in the near future” is too optimistic, since there are no plans to remove the status of an extremist organization from Meta*.
WhatsApp messenger is owned by Meta*. Until now, the app could only send and receive messages, photos, videos, documents, voice messages and make calls. But on September 13, WhatsApp launched public channels in more than 150 countries, promising that the ability to create them will gradually become available to every user.
Gorelkin said then that the official position on the work of WhatsApp in Russia could be revised if the messenger begins to “expand its functionality towards the mass dissemination of information.”
The head of the Defense Committee of the Federation Council, Viktor Bondarev, for his part, emphasized that the transformation of WhatsApp into a full-fledged media outlet is of concern and in the case of obvious threats to Russians, the manager may be blocked.
* The activities of Meta (social networks Facebook, Instagram) are prohibited in Russia as extremist.