Blocking of Telegram in Russia Explained

In April 2018, the Russian government blocked Telegram, a popular messaging app, after a court ruling deemed it a threat to national security.

The court's decision was based on Telegram's refusal to provide the FSB, Russia's federal security service, with encryption keys to access user messages.

This was not the first time Telegram had clashed with the Russian authorities, as the app had previously been ordered to hand over encryption keys in 2017.

The block was enforced by Roskomnadzor, Russia's telecoms regulator, which began to block Telegram's IP addresses in April 2018.

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In 2017, Roskomnadzor asked Telegram to comply with Russian legislation, including registering the company in Russia and turning over its encryption keys to the FSB.

Telegram's founder, Pavel Durov, refused to comply, citing the company's privacy policy.

The FSB's requirements to provide access to private conversations of users are unconstitutional, baseless, and technically and legally unfulfillable.

A Moscow court ordered Telegram to be blocked in Russia after failing to give the country's Secret Service (FSB) decryption keys to access users' messages.

Telegram has more than 200 million active users worldwide.

The court's decision was made after Telegram's lawyer, Pavel Chikov, withdrew from the hearing, citing a lack of notice.

Providing the FSB with encryption keys would have allowed the Russian state to monitor every text or call using Telegram, possibly in real-time.

The blocking of Telegram in Russia is part of a larger trend of the Kremlin tightening its control over the internet.

Here's a list of some of the other companies that have been targeted by the Kremlin:

The Russian government has taken several actions to restrict or block messaging apps in the country. Russia has announced restrictions on the messaging apps WhatsApp and Telegram, accusing them of failing to share information with law enforcement in fraud and terrorism cases.

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The government wants the online messaging services to provide access to user data upon request from law enforcement. Roskomnadzor said that access to calls in foreign messengers will be restored after they start complying with Russian legislation.

A court in Moscow ordered Telegram to be blocked in Russia after failing to give the country's Secret Service (FSB) decryption keys to access users' messages. Telegram's lawyer argued that providing such keys would be unconstitutional and technically impossible.

The FSB's requirements to provide access to private conversations of users are baseless and cannot be fulfilled technically and legally. This is not the first time Russia has clashed with foreign tech platforms over content and data storage.

Here are some key government actions against Telegram:

Despite the efforts to block Telegram, the messaging app continued to be widely available in Russia.

The Russian government attempted to block Telegram on multiple occasions, but the app remained accessible to its users.

In 2018, a Moscow court ordered the blocking of Telegram, but the app's developers found a way to circumvent the ban by using domain name system (DNS) servers outside of Russia.

The Russian government tried to block Telegram again in 2020, but the app's users were still able to access it using virtual private networks (VPNs).