The head of the Ministry of Digital Development explained the decision to slow down Telegram in Russia

Roskomnadzor has decided to slow down Telegram due to violations of Russian legislation, said the head of the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation, Maksut Shadayev.

Roskomnadzor has decided to slow down Telegram services. The basis for this decision is the messenger’s systematic and constant violation of the requirements of the Federal Law (federal legislation — (ed.), — said the head of the Ministry of Digital Development.

Telegram ignored 150 thousand requests from the Russian Federation to remove materials with prohibited information, the head of the department emphasized. And he stated that there are many facts that foreign intelligence services have access to correspondence in the messenger and use this data against the Russian army. Shadayev also said that the Russian Ministry of Digital Development is not in contact with the Telegram messenger.

We have direct confirmation from law enforcement agencies that, unfortunately, if at the beginning of the SVO Telegram was considered an anonymous service and was used by our military, now there are many facts that foreign intelligence services have access to correspondence in Telegram, who use this data as part of conducting combat operations against our armed forcessaid Shadayev.

According to him, earlier this was episodic, but now it is systematic. After blocking voice calls on Telegram, fraudulent calls to the Russian Federation began to decline, Shadayev noted. And he emphasized that in the situation with Telegram in Russia, “no one is cutting from the shoulder,” everyone understands the importance of the service.

Now there is a slowdown in downloading large files in the messenger, but the main functionality is available, Shadayev said.

There is a slowdown in loading heavy files, which certainly has a negative impact on the customer experience. But the main functionality is still available,” noted the head of the Ministry of Digital Development.

He also said that the number of crimes using instant messengers in Russia has tripled since 2022.

source: RIA Novosti Crimea