They will not block Telegram
There may soon be one less messenger in the smartphones of Russian users. The appearance on WhatsApp of “hostile channels with prohibited information will immediately require their removal and, in case of refusal, blocking,” Roskomnadzor said.
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Photo: freepik.com
As you know, during the procedure for expelling Meta from Russia (recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation – “MK ”), not all of its spiritual children were recognized as equally harmful and extremist and were therefore blocked. An exception was made for the WhatsApp messenger: the relevant authorities believed that it was only a means of communication. Which at the time – spring 2022 – was quite true. Until recently, you could only communicate using WhatsApp.
But everything will change soon. “Today's a big day — we're launching Channels in over 150 countries, so our users can receive updates privately about what they're interested in,” the service team announced last Wednesday. “Thousands of organizations, sports teams, artists and opinion leaders are already creating their own channels that you can subscribe to right on WhatsApp.”
Channels, judging by the available information, will be similar to Telegram , but WhatsApp promises a higher level of privacy: “We have separated channels from chats and made sure that the channels that the user subscribes to are not visible to other subscribers. In addition, we protect the personal data of administrators and subscribers.”
Now, they believe in the corridors of Russian power, WhatsApp should be treated very differently. The positions of the legislative and executive branches on this issue do not differ. “If the product of the extremist company Meta begins to expand its functionality towards the mass dissemination of information, there may be a revision of the official attitude towards its activities on the territory of the Russian Federation,” believes Anton Gorelkin, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee for Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications. “You can easily imagine which channels and with what content will soon be available to the Russian audience.”
The chairman of the “information” committee of the State Duma, Alexander Khinshtein, fully agrees with his colleague and Roskomnadzor: “If WhatsApp really launches Russian-language information channels, it would be right to reconsider your attitude towards this messenger, even to the point of blocking it. There is no doubt about the anti-Russian nature of these channels…”
Everything seems logical. At one point, however, the authorities' logic clearly falters. The parliamentary statements quoted above were made on Telegram, which for some time has been the choice of Russian public servants both for mutual communication and for messages to the city and the world.
But along with channels reflecting the position of branches and branches of power, Telegram contains a large number of resources that broadcast information that is currently banned in Russia. We emphasize: not potential channels, as in the case of WhatsApp, that could potentially, hypothetically spread information that could potentially, hypothetically be banned. But real, active.
Meanwhile, no one is thinking about banning Telegram itself. Officiality and what the bureaucracy considers extremism coexist quite peacefully in the service. And there are no clear explanations for these double standards.
The following statement by MP Anton Gorelkin can hardly be classified: “Subscribers are asking for an explanation why WhatsApp risks being blocked by the regulator, because the existence of channels in the same Telegram does not bother anyone. Let me explain: the owner of WhatsApp is the company Meta, officially recognized as an extremist organization in the Russian Federation…” And then – all about that, about Meta, about how Russophobic, extremist, this, that, that is … And nothing at all – about Telegram .
There is, of course, good news: Telegram, for all its extremism, apparent and imagined, seems to be left to us after all. Millions of Russian service users will appreciate this news. But even more Russians use WhatsApp.
According to the official Runet meter, research company Mediascope, today the disgraced messenger is the most popular Internet service in Russia: in July of this year, the average daily reach of WhatsApp was 80.2 million people. Telegram, for comparison, is in fourth place – 54.3 million.
If the threats of officials and MPs come true – and it seems that they are not kidding – this rating will of course be turned upside down. Moreover, at the bottom, WhatsApp, due to the energetic and tireless fight of our “Internet police” against VPN services, will be left with very little. But the prospects opening up for Telegram are simply breathtaking.
The prospects would be so great if it were not for the firm belief that respected officials and representatives, threatening WhatsApp with various punishments, are working for the good of Russia, defending exclusively state interests , you'd think they'd be working on Telegram a bit too.