Why they don’t block, but rather “promote” Telegram, where this content is ubiquitous, is still a mystery.
The other day it became known that WhatsApp, by analogy with Telegram, will have “channels” that users can use as their personal blogs, and various media as news feeds. This circumstance, given how many different “fakes” are now breeding on a variety of political and near-political topics, raises fears that WhatsApp will turn into “Telegram at maximum speed”, where every pseudo-expert on everything and about everything will pour out his invaluable opinion on huge audiences.
And so, Roskomnadzor gave the corresponding comment today in response to a press request. As noted in the regulatory agency, Russian legislation applies to all companies operating in Russia without exception. If prohibited information appears on WhatsApp, the RKN will require the service administration to delete it. If you refuse to delete, WhatsApp may be blocked in the country.
Why, you ask, are similar measures not applied to Telegram, which also has no real relation to Russia, but which is actively “promoted” in the Russian Federation almost as a “domestic” service, which at the same time presents a sea of “banned” ? Because that’s how it is. We personally have no other answer to this question.
As for WhatsApp, this is the only freely functioning service in Russia from Meta Platforms Inc., a company banned in the country. (formerly Facebook Inc.). Roskomnadzor did not touch it precisely for the simple reason that its structure did not imply the placement of a “banned area”. Now this is changing, and judging by the inadequacy of the Meta management in relation to the requirements of the RKN, the fate of WhatsApp in the Russian Federation can already be considered a foregone conclusion.
