Pavel Durov, the founder and proprietor of Telegram, a cloud-based immediate messaging service, has commented on media stories that the messaging app has been throttled in Russia, saying the Russian authorities are trying to push folks in the direction of the Kremlin-controlled app Max, which has been "constructed for surveillance and political censorship".

Supply: Durov on Telegram

Particulars: Durov insisted that such efforts are futile, pointing to Iran the place, eight years in the past, the authorities "tried the identical technique". Telegram was banned within the nation "on made-up pretexts" and folks have been additionally urged to change to a state-run different, however Iranians selected to bypass censorship and continued to make use of the app.

Quote: "Proscribing residents' freedom isn’t the proper reply. Telegram stands for freedom of speech and privateness, irrespective of the strain."

Background: Russian customers have had issues accessing Telegram since yesterday. Related points have been reported in January and late December final yr. In November 2025, Russia restricted registration on Telegram and WhatsApp following earlier makes an attempt to decelerate messaging apps that the Russian authorities have accused of facilitating crime and terrorism.

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