Moscow chokes Telegram as it pushes state-backed rival app

AFP | Moscow

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Russia’s internet watchdog yesterday announced it was throttling the Telegram messenger platform for alleged legal violations, as Moscow tries to push its citizens into using a more tightly controlled domestic online service.

Moscow has been threatening a host of internet platforms with forced slowdowns or outright bans if they do not comply with Russian laws.

Those laws require data on Russian users to be stored inside the country, and for efforts to be made to stamp out their use for what Moscow calls “criminal and terrorist purposes”.

Critics and rights campaigners say the restrictions are a transparent attempt by the Kremlin to ramp up control and surveillance over internet use in Russia, amid a sweeping crackdown on dissent during the Ukraine offensive.

The Roskomnadzor agency said in a statement cited by state media that it will “continue to introduce phased restrictions” on Telegram, which it said had not complied with the laws.

Telegram is widely used across Russia, both as a messaging app and as a social media service.

Almost all major public figures, including government bodies and the Kremlin, post regular updates on the platform.