Russia Threatens Telegram App With Ban
Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published June 23, 2017 | 02:35 PM
MOSCOW, , (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Jun, 2017 ) - Russia's state communications watchdog on Friday threatened to ban the Telegram messaging app because the company behind the service had failed to submit company details for registration.
In a message on its website, the Roskomnadzor agency warned that "time is running out" for Telegram to comply with the law. Otherwise "Telegram must be blocked in Russia," it said. The free instant messaging app lets people exchange messages, photos and videos in groups of up to 5,000 people.
It has attracted about 100 million users since its launch in 2013. In an unusual move, the agency's chief, Alexander Zharov, addressed Telegram's secretive Russian chief executive, Pavel Durov.
"I publicly call on the Telegram team and personally Pavel Durov: carry out the Russian law!" Zharov wrote, adding: "The choice is yours." The watchdog said it had been sending messages to the company "practically every day" asking it to send company information for Roskomnadzor's register.
Durov has not responded on his social media accounts. The 32-year-old had previously created Russia's popular VKontakte social media site, before founding Telegram in the United States.
Durov said in April that the app had "consistently defended our users' privacy" and "never made any deals with governments." But the service has drawn the ire of critics who say it can let criminals and terrorists communicate without fear of being tracked by police, pointing in particular to its use by Islamic State jihadists.
The app is one of several targeted in a legal crackdown by Russian authorities on the internet and on social media sites in particular. Since January 1, Internet companies are required to store all users' personal data at data centres in Russia and provide it to the authorities on demand.
And draft legislation that has already secured initial backing in parliament would make it illegal for messaging services to have anonymous users. A bill set for its first reading Friday would also ban the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) and proxy servers to bypass Russian internet controls.
But Russia's internet ombudsman Dmitry Marinichev said the VPN bill was "going against common sense", speaking to RBK independent news site this month. The Kommersant business daily criticised the slew of legislation this month, saying: "The Russian internet needs protection against laws."
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Selection committee dissolved over Pakistan women cricket team's poor performanc ..
Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz in police uniform at Chung police center
Currency Rate In Pakistan - Dollar, Euro, Pound, Riyal Rates On 25 April 2024
Today Gold Rate in Pakistan 25 April 2024
Mired in crisis, Boeing reports another loss
Session Awarding Ceremony 2024 held at Cadet College Muzaffarabad
Austrian ski great Hirscher to make comeback under Dutch flag
Pakistan, Japan agrees to convene 'Economic Policy Dialogue'
FM Dar conveys deepest sympathy on torrential rains devastation in UAE
Spain PM Sanchez says weighing resignation after wife's graft probe
Tennis: ATP/WTA Madrid Open results - 1st update
Long-lost Klimt portrait auctioned off for 30 mn euros
More Stories From World
-
Myanmar to hold 59th gems emporium next month
15 minutes ago -
Digital economy contributes 8.4 pct to Philippine economy in 2023
15 minutes ago -
China committed to supporting Zimbabwe's innovation-driven development
15 minutes ago -
Starfish control program improving health of Australia's Great Barrier Reef: report
16 minutes ago -
Pakistan calls for addressing development changes at a key UN meeting
25 minutes ago -
Advanced 5G base station launched in Mt. Qomolangma
25 minutes ago
-
Cambodia on right track to achieving malaria-free goal by 2025: PM
25 minutes ago -
Endrick sparks Palmeiras comeback in Copa Libertadores
25 minutes ago -
Hyundai Motor's operating profit falls 2.3 pct in Q1
26 minutes ago -
The Myanmar 'water brothers' salvaging shipwrecks on the tide
36 minutes ago -
Togo's legislative elections: What is at stake?
46 minutes ago -
US Supreme Court to hear Trump immunity claim
1 hour ago