Some Russian media outlets and internet pages have reported that Russia may impose a complete ban on the Telegram application starting from April 1st.
Commenting on the matter, a source at the Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Communications and Information Technology (Roskomnadzor) told RT: "We have nothing to add to the information previously published on this subject."
Roskomnadzor had previously indicated that the restrictions it imposes on the Telegram application are to ensure the application's compliance with Russian laws and to protect citizens.
Anton Nemkin, a member of the Information Policy Committee of the Russian State Duma, stated that the restrictions imposed by Moscow on the Telegram platform are not aimed at a ban, but rather at forcing the platform to comply with Russian law. He said: "If the platform decides to operate in accordance with the requirements of Russian legislation and ensures the appropriate level of protection for citizens, there will be no fundamental obstacles to restoring full operation."
Nimkin pointed out that the responsibility for the further development of the situation lies with the Telegram platform itself, and the ball is now in its court.
Against the backdrop of recent developments, the administrators of the "Telegram" application announced the blocking of more than 230,000 channels and groups of the application during Sunday, February 15, alone, for violating the application's rules, while the details of what was specifically blocked were not disclosed.
