BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday criticized messaging platform WhatsApp for not launching in Brazil its new feature called Communities until this year’s presidential election is over.
The messaging service owned by Meta Platforms said on Thursday that it is testing the new tool to organize groups in larger structures that could be used by workplaces or schools.
The feature would bring together groups, which at present are capped at 256 users.
Brazilian media reported that the feature would not be available in Brazil before the election is concluded in October.
“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.
WhatsApp is one of the messaging platforms that Bolsonaro’s supporters rely on heavily to communicate.
Meta declined to comment.
(Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Sandra Maler)
