I feel there is a big difference between Steem and WhatsApp.

As you stated, WhatsApp competes with a Chinese product. Also, I dont buy the banning of crypto...what the Chinese government is going after is control of the market. The state will end up having the mining and the exchanges.

Steemit will be tough to ban since it is a technological platform and the second they try to ban it, people will figure a way around it. Decentralization allows for messages to get through where they are banned via traditional communication methods.