Russia slows Telegram over content removal disputes, minister says

ISTANBUL

Russia’s communications and media regulator has decided to slow down the Telegram messaging app under federal law, a senior government official said Wednesday.

Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media Minister Maksut Shadayev told a State Duma IT Committee meeting that Telegram ignored 150,000 requests to remove restricted materials, including child pornography and content related to drug trafficking. He said those cases have procedural status and investigations are ongoing.

Shadayev added that many of the alleged violations involved fraud, with more than 30,000 cases linked to sabotage and terrorist attacks.

He also said “foreign intelligence agencies” have access to Telegram correspondence, describing that as one of the reasons for the decision.

He said the measure involves slowing media file transfers, while text correspondence remains unaffected.

“Our military personnel can continue communicating there, but we hope that over time they will switch to another messenger,” Shadayev said.

Earlier Friday, Andrey Klishas, head of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building, told Sputnik Radio that Telegram could be completely blocked in Russia if it fails to comply with legislative requirements.

The warning comes as Russian authorities intensify restrictions on foreign communication tools. Officials recently restricted WhatsApp after its parent company, Meta, allegedly refused to comply with Russian legal requirements.

Following the WhatsApp restriction, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged citizens to switch to “Max,” a state-developed national messenger that has been mandatory on new devices since 2025.

Telegram remains widely used in Russia, including by the military, but has faced mounting pressure from Roskomnadzor over data localization and anti-terrorism regulations.

Telegram founder Pavel Durov has previously said such restrictions are an attempt to push users toward state-monitored platforms, echoing similar concerns raised by Meta about political censorship.