Russia unblocks China social media app WeChat
Telecoms authority announces reversal after company provided ‘relevant information’ for registration
Russian telecoms watchdog Roskomnadzor has unblocked China’s WeChat, the popular social media app developed by Tencent Technology, after banning it last week, according to a statement on the Russian regulator’s website on Thursday.
A company named WeChat International had provided the information necessary for the social media software’s registration at Roskomnadzor, officially known as the Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Telecom, Information Technologies and Mass Communications.
After Roskomnadzor banned WeChat last Friday, Tencent said in a brief statement it was sorry about Moscow’s decision and was communicating with Russian authorities over the matter. Russia requires internet service providers to register with related government bodies, but Tencent said it “had a different understanding” on this issue.
WeChat is China’s most popular social media application with 889 million active users worldwide by the end of 2016. China has itself blocked foreign social media, including Facebook and Twitter, at home on the basis of domestic rules and regulations.
