MOSCOW. Sept 14 (Interfax) - Access to WhatsApp could be blocked in Russia if the messaging app launches Russian-language news channels, Chairman of the Russian State Duma's Committee on Information Policy Alexander Khinshtein said.
"I share the position of my colleague [Anton] Gorelkin that if WhatsApp launches Russian-language information channels, it will be right to review the attitude to this messenger, including even its blocking," Khinshtein said on his Telegram channel on Thursday.
"The anti-Russian nature of these channels cannot be doubted, because WA belongs to extremist company Meta [designated as an extremist organization and banned in Russia] with all that it implies," he said.
In a statement published on its blog on September 13, WhatsApp announced the global launch of the channel creation feature in 150 countries.