Moscow is concerned by the new Channels feature in the messaging app and for its potential uses WhatsApp might be blocked in Russia like Facebook and Instagram if the app’s functions are expanded to make it more than simply a messaging platform, lawmakers in Moscow have warned.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has announced the expulsion of two American diplomats, who were previously accused of recruiting a Russian national as a confidential informant. US Ambassador Lynne Tracy was summoned on Thursday to be issued with a ‘demarche’ note, a form of diplomatic protest, regarding David Bernstein and Jeffery Sillin, the Russian diplomatic department…

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