Zuckerberg criticises UAE for blocking WhatsApp features

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg has taken aim at the United Arab Emirates (UAE), chiding it for blocking features of the social network's popular WhatsApp.

After Zuckerberg announced on Facebook on Tuesday that video calling would be possible on Whatsapp, a user in the UAE complained about the inability to use voice and video calls there.

“You’ve got your government to thank for that one,” he shot back, drawing about 9,000 likes.

The UAE's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority has said in the past that it lets licensed operators provide voice over internet protocol services across their networks, but in practice they don't exist.

The authority, government spokesmen and the Dubai media office didn't immediately respond to phone calls and emails seeking comment on Zuckerberg's remark.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said on Thursday a decision by Russia’s communications regulator to block LinkedIn’s website was legal and that president Vladimir Putin did not plan to interfere in the case.

Roskomnadzor, Russia’s communications regulator, ordered public access to the site to be blocked on Thursday to comply with a court ruling that found the social networking firm guilty of violating data storage laws.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters the Kremlin was not worried the case would stir fears about censorship in Russia.

– Bloomberg