A Russian lawmaker who regulates the IT industry said WhatsApp should prepare to stop offering its services in the country. Anton Gorelkin, the deputy head of the lower house of parliament's IT committee, said that it's very likely that WhatsApp will be placed on a list of restricted software, as Reuters reports.<br /> WhatsApp owner Meta is designated as an extremist organisation in Russia, which has banned Facebook and Instagram since 2022. This week, President Vladimir Putin issued a directive for the nation to further restrict software (including communication apps) stemming from "unfriendly countries" that have sanctioned Russia, with a deadline of September 1. Gorelkin said WhatsApp will probably be one such service.<br /> In June, Putin signed a law t [...]
It’s no secret that Russia has been slowly working towards eschewing as much Western technology as it can and developing its own, and its latest effort seems to be related to video games. On Decembe [...]
Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, is reportedly under criminal investigation by Russian authorities for “abetting terrorist activities.” According to the Financial Times, state-run publication [...]
As Meta’s first-ever generative AI conference gets underway, the company is also previewing a significant update on its plans to bring AI features to WhatsApp chats. Buried in its LlamaCon updates, [...]