Telegram Begins Complying With Russian Regulations to Avoid Block
Russian officials report Telegram has started actively blocking illegal content to comply with local regulations. Over 230,000 channels and pieces of content violating Russian law were removed in the past week, signaling increased cooperation from Pavel Durov's platform.
Andrey Svintsov, deputy chairman of the State Duma's Committee on Information Policy, suggests Telegram may avoid a threatened April 1 blocking if compliance continues. The messenger faces pressure from Roskomnadzor, Russia's communications regulator, to meet content moderation demands.
Durov, Telegram's founder, has a history of resisting Russian data requests, having left the country after refusing to censor content on his earlier venture, social network VK. The current compliance marks a shift in Telegram's approach to operating in the Russian market.
