Pavel Durov of Telegram Investigated
Once the beloved of Russia has now become it’s enemy….. Observers say the hardcore Communist country wants to end Telegram app and replace it with its own MAX app.
Russia has launched a criminal investigation into the Telegram founder, Pavel Durov, on suspicion of “abetting terrorist activities”, further escalating the Kremlin’s standoff with the widely used messaging app.
The state newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported on Tuesday that a case had been opened “based on materials from Russia’s federal security service”, which accused the app of being compromised by western and Ukrainian intelligence.
Durov, who lives abroad, criticised the investigation against him, describing it as an attempt to “suppress the right to privacy and free speech”.
“A sad spectacle of a state afraid of its own people,” he wrote on social media.
Earlier this month, Moscow announced it would slow down Telegram’s traffic because of what it said were multiple violations, as the Kremlin attempts to steer tens of millions of Russian users towards a state-controlled alternative, known as MAX.
The strategy forms part of the Kremlin’s push to build a “sovereign internet”, an online space tightly controlled by the state.
Asked about the investigation into Durov, the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said authorities had identified quantities of material on Telegram that could “potentially pose a threat” to Russia.
Will millions of users, groups and channels be under danger of shutting down? Nope! the show will go on. Only services in Russia will be affected.
