Protesters demand Russia stop blocking Telegram messenger app

A man holds a poster reading "RKN (Roskomnadzor - the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media) read the constitution!" during an opposition rally in central Moscow on May 13, 2018, to demand internet freedom in Russia. (AFP)

Hundreds of people rallied in Moscow on Sunday to demand the unblocking of the Telegram app, the second protest in the Russian capital since the authorities blocked the popular messaging service last month.

Demonstrators chanted anti-government slogans and brandished signs carrying messages against internet censorship. Some tossed paper planes in the air, symbolizing Telegram's logo.

Telegram was blocked on April 16 this year on orders from state communications watchdog Roskomnadzor, after refusing to grant Russian state security access to its users' encrypted messages.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has said it needs such access to guard against security threats such as terrorist attacks. But Telegram has said compliance with the order would constitute a violation of users' privacy.

Source: Reuters


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