Telegram to be blocked in Russia after app refuses to let authorities read people's messages
It's not clear how the decision will affect users in other countries
Your support helps us to tell the story
As your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.
Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn't have the resources to challenge those in power.
Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November election
Andrew Feinberg
White House Correspondent
Telegram will be blocked in Russia, a Russian court has ruled.
Nobody in the country should be allowed to use the popular messaging app because it will not allow authorities to break into people's messages.
Telegram and Russian officials have been stuck in a long argument to try and force the app to give up the encryption keys that keep people's messages safe.
Authorities argue that it needs access to people's messages so that it can investigate serious crimes like terrorist attacks.
But Telegram and privacy advocates say that doing so will make all users unsafe and will undermine the technology that keeps messages private as they are sent over the internet.
The Moscow court ruled that Telegram will be blocked in Russia until it hands over the keys.
It's not clear how the decision to block the app in Russia will affect users in other countries. But it is likely that internet authorities will simply shut off access, meaning that international users will still be able to use the app as normal – though not to communicate with people in the country.
Telegram, a popular app developed by Russian entrepreneur Pavel Durov, argues that the FSB intelligence service is violating consumer rights, while authorities say the app has been used by violent extremists.
The Supreme Court last month threw out an appeal by Telegram against the requirement to provide the data.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments