As part of its services, Telegram allows its more than 200 million global users, including senior Russian government officials, to communicate via encrypted messages which cannot be read by third parties. Pavel Chikov, a lawyer representing Telegram, said the court decision was warning to global technology firms of the dangers of operating in Russia. “There is the legal position, which requires the provision of data to certain Russian state bodies. Russian users will still be able to access Telegram’s services by using VPNs, which allow people to bypass internet restrictions imposed by authorities. Russia’s deputy communications minister, Alexei Volin, said VPNs and other ways of circumnavigating the ban meant Telegram users would not be greatly inconvenienced.

Source: The Express Tribune April 14, 2018 07:41 UTC