Scottish authorities have decided to ban ministers and government staff from using the WhatsApp messenger (owned by the Meta corporation, which is recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation) for official purposes.
This was reported by the BBC broadcasting corporation, referring to the statement of Kate Forbes, the first deputy minister of Scotland.
"Government operations must be carried out on government systems that are secure and allow information to be shared appropriately in accordance with our legal obligations," he told the Scottish Parliament.Forbes added that WhatsApp and other "no "enterprise" messaging systems will be phased out from spring 2025.
According to the First Deputy Minister, officials will be required to use only government-approved applications, such as Microsoft Teams, for official purposes. They will also be prohibited from using personal phones for work.
