Telegram: Russia orders app blocked; pirated content routinely stored on app’s servers, claims report

A few weeks ago, a court ordered messaging app Telegram to hand over encryption keys for messages to Russia’s KGB successor, the Federal Security Service (FSB). Telegram refused, and a court has now ordered that access to the service be blocked.

This was expected, but there’s one ‘you couldn’t make it up’ aspect to it which wasn’t …

Reuters reports that Telegram is used by the the Russian government, and officials appear to be using a VPN service to circumvent the ban.

In Russia, Telegram is increasingly popular as an app for mobile devices and desktops – not only among ordinary people but is widely used by authorities.

The Kremlin uses Telegram to coordinate timings of regular conference calls with Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, while many government officials use the messenger to communicate with media.

When Reuters asked a person in the Russian government on how they would operate without access to Telegram, the person, who asked not be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue, replied by sending a screenshot of his mobile phone with an open VPN app.

Everyone is equal, but some are more equal than others, it seems …

The issue is not great timing for the company, which is in the middle of the world’s biggest initial coin offering.

Telegram’s troubles don’t end with Russia. A couple of months after Apple pulled the app from the App Store when it was found to be used to share child pornography, a new report says that Telegram groups and channels are widely used to share pirated content. Unlike other services, which share links to the content, The Outline says that pirated movies, TV shows and music are routinely uploaded to Telegram’s own cloud-based servers.

Instead of linking to annoying, ad-filled file-sharing websites or asking users to install additional software (as is common on torrent websites such as The Pirate Bay and […] other questionable forums) most channels upload the content directly to Telegram’s cloud-based servers. This has enabled users to download a movie or a song directly to their phone or computer with a single tap.

Pirate channel admins who spoke to The Outline said that while other services frequently ban them, Telegram doesn’t police their activities. Telegram said only that it is ‘constantly improving’ its moderation tools for public content.

Roskomnadzor refused to provide the exact time of the Telegram blocking


The head of Roskomnadzor Alexander Zharov refused to tell the exact time when the telegram was disconnected, TASS reports.

"Imagine, there are fighting, and you say:" And when you start the attack? ". Well, in the near future. When I attack, I will not say, "he explained, noting that it would be a" bomb for journalists ".

According to him, Roskomnadzor must carry out technical work "impeccably." "It's about days, maybe about hours, maybe about minutes," Zharov said.

Tagansky Court of Moscow on April 13 ruled to block Telegram because of the company's refusal to provide the FSB with the keys to decrypt user messages. The decision was made on the suit of Roskomnadzor, filed on April 6. Telegram previously stated that the requirement of Roskomnadzor is impracticable, since the keys are stored on users' devices.

Telegram did not give the keys


Yesterday expired the ultimatum of the Russian authorities to the telegram messenger. Contrary to the requirements of the FSB and Roskomnadzor, within 15 days Telegram did not give the authorities the keys to decrypt the correspondence of users from Russia. The refusal of the company may become an excuse to initiate the procedure of restricting access to Telegram on the territory of the country. For this Roskomnadzor plans to apply to the court.

Yesterday, Telegram did not provide the FSB with the keys to decrypt the correspondence of users from Russia, Damir Gainutdinov, the lawyer of the international human rights group Agora, representing the interests of Telegram, told Kommersant. According to him, the fulfillment of the requirement of the FSB and Roskomnadzor to transfer encryption keys to Telegram is impossible in principle. The messenger uses an end-to-end encryption algorithm, in which regularly modifiable keys are generated on user devices, and the transmitted messages are not stored on the service servers.

Telegram did not comply with the requirement of Roskomnadzor to transfer the keys of decryption of messages to the FSB within 15 days. This requirement emerged after a meeting of the Supreme Court, which on March 20 recognized the lawful order of the FSB to provide keys to decrypt messages in Telegram. Thus, the claim of the lawyers of the messenger to the FSB was rejected. "Threats to block Telegram, if it does not give out personal data of users, will not bear fruit. Telegram will protect freedom and privacy, "Pavel Durov wrote at the time. In Russia Telegram is used by about 10 million people. In 2017, Telegram ranked 13th among mobile applications by the number of downloads by Russian users, Ann Annie reported.

Already today Roskomnadzor can apply to court with the demand to block Telegram, Damir Gainutdinov believes. But formally Roskomnadzor can begin the blocking procedure on Thursday, he admits, for this purpose, a judicial act on the case of an administrative violation is sufficient. In October 2017, the court fined Telegram Messenger LLP for 800 thousand rubles. for refusing to comply with the FSB request for information to decode user messages. Roskomnadzor does not plan to start blocking Telegram only on the basis of a court decision on an administrative offense of October 2017. If Telegram did not give the FSB the keys to decode the messages, Roskomnadzor will apply to the court with a separate request to block the messenger, explained the head of Roskomnadzor Alexander Zharov.

One way or another, the principle decision to block Telegram or not is taken not by the supervisory service or even by the court, but by the presidential administration, believes Sarkis Darbinyan, head of the Digital Rights Center and lawyer of the "Roskomvoboda". "Judging by the indirect sign, there is a decision to block," he admits. Perhaps, first, there will be restriction of access to the three web resources of the messenger entered in the register of information dissemination organizers, then a package of Telegram service IP-addresses will be added to the registry for blocking, and then pressure will begin on the App Store and Google Play, Sargis Darbinyan suggests. Initially, Roskomnadzor may require application stores to block Telegram as a service that violates Russian law, says OMMG Technology owner Sergei Kravtsov. "They are very likely to do this, and then all users will at least lose updates," he said. Difficulties may appear in those who use VPN services to bypass the blocking, Roskomnadzor can send letters to the largest such services, and they will go to meet the challenge service, says Sergei Kravtsov. But most users are far from high technologies and will choose an alternative messenger, he predicts.

Telegram's refusal to meet unrealistic requirements and subsequent attempts to block will show how the runet will develop in the coming years, said Karen Ghazaryan, head of the analytical department of the Russian Association of Electronic Communications. "If hypothetically, Pavel Durov will go to meet the FSB, where is the guarantee that access to correspondence will not be demanded by other special services? But the messenger is extremely popular with Russian officials, "he thinks. Law enforcement agencies need a new model of interaction with Internet services, taking into account technological realities, the need to protect data from other persons from intruders and the right to confidentiality, the expert concluded.