Source: Breaking News
Jair Bolsonaro, the far-right President Brazil criticised the messaging platform WhatsApp on Friday, April 15. The criticism was for not launching its new feature called Communities in Brazil until the end of the presidential election of the current year. The messaging service is owned by Facebook-parent Meta Platforms.
On Thursday, April 14, the platform specified that it is set to test a new tool for its app. This new tool was aimed at the organisation of groups in much larger structures as compared to now. Expectantly, this would be useful in schools and places of work. This new feature is set to bring together at a larger group for members. Presently, the number of people allowed in a group are limited at 256 users.
The presidential election in Brazil is set to take place in October 2022. This week, the Brazilian media stated in reports that this new feature of organising groups in larger structures of the app would not be made available in Brazil. Specifically, not until the conclusion of the scheduled elections in the country.
“What WhatsApp is doing all over the world is no problem, but making an exception in Brazil is unacceptable,” Bolsonaro said during a motorcycle rally he led in Sao Paulo.
As a campaign for his re-election in the upcoming elections. Bolsonaro held a motorcycle rally in Sao Paulo. He is to set face former leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva in the election, who is already leading in opinion polls. Thousands of motorbike rides joined the President this week in the journey to the Brazilian city of Americana in the rally which was 100 kms long. As a promise, Bolsonaro told his supporters that he would suspend tolls for bike riders on federal roads. Former Infrastructure Minister of Brazil, Tarcisio Freitas was also one of the riders in the rally on Friday. Moreover, he stepped down from his post to run for governor of the largest city in Brazil, Sao Paulo. Currently, he is one of President Bolsonaro’s candidate.
Bolsonaro expressed his disappointment in the actions of the messaging service of Meta. He specified what WhatsApp was carrying out all around the world is not a ‘problem.’ However, he considered it ‘unacceptable’ that they were excluding Brazil in this and give the liberty to all countries except Brazil. Notably, Meta’s WhatsApp is one of the services of communication that supporters Bolsonaro depend quit extensively.
