Russia has banned the Telegram messaging app after it – because the company refuses to reveal its encryption key.
A court in Moscow ruled to block the popular app after the firm declined to give state security services access to private conversations.
It followed a long-running battle between authorities and Telegram, which has a reputation for secure communications, as Moscow pushes to increase surveillance of internet activities.
The Roskomnadzor telecoms watchdog, which brought the case, had earlier demanded the service be blocked as soon as the verdict was announced.
The authorities also pushed ‘hundreds of thousands of Russian users to study proxies and VPNs’ in an attempt to circumnavigate a potential ban, he said.