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Here's how much time Telegram has before the Russian government could block it

Source: Meduza
On October 16, a Moscow district court fined the instant messenger app Telegram 800,000 rubles ($14,000) for refusing to obey orders from the Federal Security Service to decode user correspondence. The verdict is the first known case in Russia of the government fining a tech company for failure to comply with this anti-terrorist regulation. Telegram did not send representatives to court. Next, the court will formally mail a copy of the verdict to Telegram’s office in London, and 10 days later the ruling goes into force. Roskomnadzor, Russia’s federal media censor, will then grant Telegram some additional time to begin cooperating with Russian federal agents. As soon as November 27, the Russian government could ban Telegram for failure to comply. Telegram creator Pavel Durov has vowed not to surrender the app’s encryption keys or any user data to the Federal Security Service, putting his messaging service on a crash course with Russian regulators. Durov also says he is building a legal team to challenge the ruling.
On October 16, a Moscow district court fined the instant messenger app Telegram 800,000 rubles ($14,000) for refusing to obey orders from the Federal Security Service to decode user correspondence. The verdict is the first known case in Russia of the government fining a tech company for failure to comply with this anti-terrorist regulation. Telegram did not send representatives to court. Next, the court will formally mail a copy of the verdict to Telegram’s office in London, and 10 days later the ruling goes into force. Roskomnadzor, Russia’s federal media censor, will then grant Telegram some additional time to begin cooperating with Russian federal agents. As soon as November 27, the Russian government could ban Telegram for failure to comply. Telegram creator Pavel Durov has vowed not to surrender the app’s encryption keys or any user data to the Federal Security Service, putting his messaging service on a crash course with Russian regulators. Durov also says he is building a legal team to challenge the ruling.

Photo on front page: XanderSt / Shutterstock.com

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