Official: Russia may revise position on WhatsApp with channels

MOSCOW, Sep 14 (PRIME) -- The Russian authorities may reconsider their position toward messenger WhatsApp, part of Meta, which is qualified as extremist in the country, if the service adds a feature of information distribution, Anton Gorelkin, first deputy head of the IT committee of the parliament’s lower house State Duma, said late on Wednesday.

“I have already spoken about channels in WhatsApp. If a product of extremist company Meta starts expanding its features towards massive distribution of information, the official position regarding its operations on the territory of the Russian Federation may be revised,” Gorelkin said in a Telegram post.

WhatsApp earlier launched channels, which are a one-way broadcast tool for administrators to send text, photos, videos, stickers, and polls.

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