- This content was produced in Russia, where coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine is limited by law.
A Russian lawmaker on Wednesday urged state institutions to stop using WhatsApp Messenger, and the Ministry of Industry sought to promote domestically produced software as Russia tries to wean itself off Western technology.
Owner of WhatsApp Meta Platforms Inc. (META.O) was found guilty of “extremist activity»In Russia in March and was subsequently added to the list of«terrorists and extremists “of the agency of financial monitoring Rosfinmonitoraggio. Meta’s lawyer in court stated that Meta was not carrying out extremist activities and was opposed to russophobia.
Russia blocked Meta’s Facebook and Instagram in March, opposing restrictions on Russian media and some posts allowed by users in Ukraine.
Widely used among Russians, WhatsApp has always been available, but Anton Gorelkin, deputy head of the Russian parliament’s information policy committee, said Wednesday that he would personally remove the app and recommend a broader ban.
“I think it is necessary to introduce a total ban on the use of WhatsApp for official purposes by Russian state and municipal employees,” Gorelkin wrote on Telegram, a very popular alternative messenger in Russia.
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“It does not matter if it is a Russian or Dubai alternative, the main thing is that it does not belong to a company openly engaged in the information war against our country and is included in the list of terrorist and extremist organizations”.
Russia has it recognized serious shortcomings in your electronics industry. As Western sanctions and the exodus of foreign companies hinder their access to imports and technological solutions, Moscow has tried to revive the sector with tax breaks and preferential loans.
Vasily Shpak, Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce, said that the niche vacated by foreign telecommunications producers should be occupied by domestic ones.
“There will be no turning back,” Shpak said from the Interfax news agency, adding that companies leaving the country should not be allowed to return to the same niches they left.
“This niche needs to be filled by our manufacturers,” said Shpak, calling for electronic products with domestic software to form the “basis of Russia’s technological independence.”
