Hiroshi Mikitani, CEO of Rakuten, attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, U.S., July 10, 2019.
REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsKYIV, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Hiroshi Mikitani, the founder and chief executive of Rakuten Group (4755.T), on Saturday touted the ability of his company's Viber messaging platform to counter Russian propaganda.
"Unlike other social media, we've made it crystal clear we're going to block all these fake news and propaganda of Russia," Mikitani told Reuters in a Zoom interview during a visit to Kyiv.
Viber, which launched in 2010 and was acquired by Rakuten in 2014, has a 98% market penetration rate in Ukraine.
Asked if the app had faced attempts to breach it by Russia, he said there had not been any breaches.
Persons:
Hiroshi Mikitani, Brendan McDermid, we've, Mikitani, Yoshimasa Hayashi, Viber, Rakuten, Max Hunder, Mike Harrison
Organizations:
Allen, Co, Sun, REUTERS, Rights, Rakuten, Saturday, Reuters, Access, Thomson
Locations:
Sun Valley , Idaho, U.S, Russia, Kyiv, Ukraine