Update (6/2/23) – JB
One Russian court fined WhatsApp three million rubles (~R$ 185 thousand) for not delete content considered prohibited by local authorities.
The messenger had previously been fined for refusing to comply with Russia’s data storage law, and this time the fine involves not removing content related to the Lyrica drug.
The sale of the drug is banned on Russian soil, but users and groups shared information on where to buy it.
For now, Meta has not commented on the matter, but the American company is considered a “terrorist” by the Russian government. Therefore, Facebook and Instagram have already been banned from the country, leaving only WhatsApp.
With the recent fines, everything indicates that soon the messenger will also be blocked by the regime of Vladimir Putin.
Original text (05/20/23)
Russia may fine WhatsApp after messenger fails to remove “banned” content
Meta, the company that owns WhatsApp and other digital platforms, can be fined 4 million Russian rubles, about R$250,000 in direct conversion, for failing to comply with a court ruling in Russia. The messenger is accused of not removing content considered banned by the government of Vladimir Putin from the application.
According to information from the state news agency RIA, the Moscow court must hold the messenger responsible for allowing users to access “prohibited” materials. The decision, however, does not yet have a date for the defendant company to comply with the determination of Justice in order to avoid fines and other punitive measures.
As reinforced by Reuters, Meta (formerly Facebook) was banned from Russia last year under the accusation of being an extremist organization for not complying with government requests. Apparently, the request was requested by the regulatory body Roskomnadzor and may be related to the war in Ukraine.
Western companies such as Google, Wikipedia and Discord have also been fined by Russia. Other companies even left the country as a way of repressing the attacks on Ukraine.
In addition to Russia, WhatsApp is also facing an accusation in the United Kingdom that could suspend the messenger’s performance in the country, if the Online Security Act is sanctioned by parliament. The source text determines the end of end-to-end encryption technology allowing access to messages in case of judicial investigation or warrant.
For Will Cathcart, head of WhatsApp, it is preferable that the platform stops working in the country rather than weakening its user privacy policy. In Brazil, the messenger and other social networks can be regulated if Bill 2630/20, known as “PL das Fake News”, is approved by politicians.
