Moscow. May 15. INTERFAX.RU – The head of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications Alexander Khinshtein told Interfax that Roskomnadzor will assess the new rules for using the WhatsApp messenger.
“The assessment of WhatsApp's actions and response measures will be determined by the regulator in the person of Roskomnadzor, with whom we will certainly discuss this situation,” he told the agency on Saturday.
According to him, the committee members intend to discuss possible response measures with the regulator on May 17.
The parliamentarian added that before consultations with colleagues he is not ready to come up with proposals for response actions – “I believe that there will be a joint, coordinated and balanced position.”
Khinshtein also confirmed that Russia has the technical ability to block WhatsApp, but stressed that this extreme measure has not yet come up with a proposal in the Duma to use it. “Yes, it is technically possible. But the very opportunity does not mean that it will necessarily be used,” the deputy explained.
On May 15, the new rules for the use of WhatsApp came into force.
According to them, in particular, the user is asked to agree to the transfer of personal data to Facebook – we are talking about phone numbers, transaction data and IP addresses of devices. Users who disagree with the new rules may lose the ability to receive calls and receive notifications.
