WhatsApp has announced the launch of channels in over 150 countries, aiming to provide a “service for mailings with the highest level of confidentiality.” This feature will be made available to all users in the coming months, according to the official blog.
The channels are separate from the chats, ensuring that subscribers are not able to see which channels other users are subscribed to.
The key features of this new function include:
- Geofilter in the channel catalog: Channels in the catalog will be filtered based on the user’s country, making it easier to search for new, active, and popular channels.
- Reactions with Emoji: Users can send Emoji as reactions and view the total number of reactions. The identities of the users who reacted will not be visible, and reactions will be automatically removed from the servers after a certain period of time.
- Sending updates: Users can send updates to chats or groups, with a link to the original channel automatically added.
Concerns have been raised by Anton Gorelkin, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Inform Policy, regarding this innovation. He speculates that WhatsApp’s new feature may become a tool for the distribution of fakes and propaganda, allowing the company to evade responsibility. He specifically mentions the owner of WhatsApp, Meta (previously known as Facebook), and their connections with American security forces. He predicts that Russian audiences may soon have access to channels with potentially undesirable content through this new feature. In addition, Gorelkin believes that if WhatsApp’s functionality expands towards mass information distribution, the official position of the Russian Federation regarding its activities may be revised, possibly leading to the messenger being blocked in the country.