Jump to content

Censorship of Telegram

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Telegram Messenger application has been blocked by multiple countries.

Map showing the countries that are either currently blocking or have blocked Telegram in the past.
  Currently blocked
  Formerly blocked

Azerbaijan

[edit]

From 27 September 2020, following the start of the war in Karabakh, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies imposed temporary restrictions on the use of social media in the country. Telegram, Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitter, Zoom and Skype were completely blocked. Many other unrelated services were also blocked due to a lack of coordination. The restriction was lifted on 10 November 2020.[1]

Bahrain

[edit]

In June 2016, it was found that some ISPs in Bahrain had started to block Telegram.[2]

Belarus

[edit]

Telegram was a key platform for sharing information and coordinating rallies during the 2020–2021 Belarusian protests.[3] Telegram was one of few communication platforms available in Belarus during the three days of internet shutdown that followed the day of the presidential election, which Belarus's president Alexander Lukashenko won amid widespread allegations of election fraud.[4] On the evening of 11 August, while the Internet shutdown continued, 45 percent of people using Telegram protest chats in Belarus were online, despite the government's efforts to block online access.[3] In October 2020, Apple asked Telegram to remove 3 channels that leaked the identities of the people involved in the Belarusian protests.[5][6][7]

Brazil

[edit]

In February 2022, the Superior Electoral Court announces that 3 Telegram channels, which are allegedly involved in fake news dissemination, had been regionally blocked by their request, under penalty of the Telegram being suspended for 48 hours.[8][9][10][11] This decision includes one of the channels of the far-right journalist Allan dos Santos, who had already had his website (Terça Livre) and YouTube channel deleted by a Supreme Federal Court decision.[12][13] On 18 March, the Superior Electoral Court ordered the suspension of all access to the service, alleging that the platform had repeatedly ignored the court's decisions.[14] Following the Superior Electoral Court's decision, Telegram's founder and CEO Pavel Durov claimed that the court was sending emails to an "old general-purpose email address" that Telegram hadn't been checking, and sought a reinvestigation of the decision.[15] The ban was lifted two days later.[16]

On 26 April 2023, Telegram was temporarily suspended throughout Brazil, and the company was fined R$1 million (2023) (US$185,528.76) daily for not complying with an investigation into neo-Nazi activities on the platform. The company only partially fulfilled a court request for personal data on two anti-Semitic Telegram groups, which authorities considered an intentional lack of cooperation. The decision was made after a series of violent school attacks, with at least one incident being linked to exchanges on an anti-Semitic group.[17] A federal court lifted the suspension three days later, but upheld the daily fine.[18]

China

[edit]

In July 2015, it was reported that China blocked access to Telegram Messenger. According to the state-owned People's Daily, Chinese human rights lawyers used Telegram to criticize the Chinese Government and the Chinese Communist Party.[19]

Cuba

[edit]

In July 2021, the Cuban government blocked access to several social media platforms, including Telegram, to curb the spread of information during the anti-government protests.[20]

Czech Republic

[edit]

Some channels (for example, Russian news channels) are blocked in the Czech Republic.[citation needed]

Germany

[edit]

On 11 February 2022, the German government announced that 64 Telegram channels, which reportedly potentially violate German laws against hate speech, had been deleted by their request. This included the channel of Attila Hildmann, a self-described nationalist who shared antisemitic conspiracy theories via his channel. According to the press release, Telegram has agreed to cooperate with the German government and delete channels with potentially illegal content in the future.[21][22]

Hong Kong

[edit]

During the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, many participants used Telegram to evade electronic surveillance and coordinate their action against the 2019 Hong Kong extradition bill. On the evening of 11 June 2019, the Hong Kong police arrested Ivan Ip, the administrator of a Telegram group with 20,000 members on suspicion of "conspiracy to commit public nuisance."[23] He was forced by the police to hand over his Telegram history.[23] The next day, Telegram suffered a "powerful" decentralized denial of service attack. Hackers tried to paralyze the target server by sending a large number of spam requests, most of which came from mainland China.[24][25][26][27][28]

On 28 August 2019, the Hong Kong Internet Service Providers Association announced that the Hong Kong government had plans to block Telegram.[29]

On 16 May 2022, Privacy Commissioner Ada Chung told a Legislative Council committee that the government remains concerned about doxxing and other violations of personal data privacy, and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data is looking at blocking Telegram to address the issue.[30]

India

[edit]

In 2019, it was reported that some internet service providers in India were blocking Telegram traffic, including its official website.[31] Internet Freedom Foundation, an Indian digital liberties organisation filed an RTI on whether Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had banned Telegram or requested ISPs to block traffic. The response from DoT said that it had no information on why the ISPs were blocking Telegram.[32] The High Court of Kerala asked about the central government's view on a plea for banning Telegram for allegedly disseminating child abuse videos and communicating through it.[33]

Indonesia

[edit]

On 14 July 2017, eleven domain name servers related to Telegram were banned by the Indonesian Communication and Information Ministry with the possibility of closing all Telegram applications in Indonesia if Telegram did not make a standard operating procedure to maintain content that was considered unlawful in the apps.[34] In August 2017, Indonesian Government has opened full access of Telegram, after Telegram has made self censorship about negative contents mainly radicalism and terrorism. Telegram said that about 10 channels/groups have been deleted from Telegram everyday due to are categorized as negative contents.[35]

Iran

[edit]

Telegram was open and working in Iran without any VPN or other circumvention methods in May 2015.[36] In August 2015, the Iranian Ministry of ICT asserted that Telegram had agreed to restrict some of its bots and sticker packs in Iran at the request of the Iranian government.[37] According to an article published on Global Voices, these features were being used by Iranians to "share satirical comments about the Iranian government". The article also noted that "some users are concerned that Telegram's willingness to comply with Iranian government requests might mean future complicity with other Iranian government censorship, or even allow government access to Telegram's data on Iranian users".[37] Telegram has stated that all Telegram chats are private territory and that they do not process any requests related to them. Only requests regarding public content (bots and sticker packs) will be processed.[38] In May 2016, the Iranian government asked all messaging apps, including Telegram, to move all Iranian users' data to Iranian servers.[39] On 20 April 2017, the Iranian government completely blocked Telegram's new voice calls, a service that allows individuals to make calls via secure, end-to-end encryption, and keep their conversations private.[40] Mahmoud Vaezi, Chief of Staff of the President of Iran said reason for blocking Telegram free voice calls is so Iranian corporations keep revenue from voice calls.[41]

On 30 December 2017, during anti-government demonstrations across Iran, Telegram has shut down a channel of the Iranian opposition that published calls to use Molotov cocktails against the police, after receiving a complaint from the Iranian government. Pavel Durov explained that the reason for the blocking was a "no calls to violence" policy and confirmed that criticizing local authorities, challenging the status quo and engaging in political debate were seen as "OK" by the platform, while "promoting violence" was not.[42] The opposition group promised to comply with Telegram rules and created a new channel which amassed 700,000 subscribers in less than 24 hours.[43] On 31 December, the Iranian government announced that Telegram has been "temporarily restricted" to "ensure calm and security" after the company said it refused to shut down peaceful protesting channels.[44] On 13 January, the app was unblocked by an order of the president Hassan Rouhani, who said that "more than 100,000 jobs had been lost" in Iran as a result of the ban on Telegram. Channels of the opposition remain operational.[45]

In March 2018, Iran's chairman for the Committee for Foreign Policy and National Security Alaeddin Boroujerdi announced that Telegram has been targeted to be fully blocked in Iran by 20 April 2018,[46] citing Telegram's role in facilitating the winter protests and the need to promote local apps.[47] President Rouhani agreed with the need to break Telegram's monopoly in Iran, but maintained that he was opposed to a new blockade and did not see it as an effective measure to promote local apps.[48] Iranian MP Mahmoud Sadeghi noted that during the two weeks that Telegram was blocked in January 2018, 30 million Iranians (75% of Telegram's users in Iran) did not start using local messaging apps, but instead turned to VPN services to circumvent the block, rendering the blockade ineffective.[49]

Telegram was blocked by the government on 1 May 2018.[50]

For until one year from the end of the 2017 riots, the Iranian government made available a customized version of Telegram that was under their domain.[51][52][53][54] In 2019, Tehran's Friday Prayer imam Mohammad-Ali Movahedi Kermani declared that Telegram is haram, and requested National Information Network deployment like the Great Firewall.[55][56]

On 27 September 2019, Bijan Ghasemzadeh, the Iranian prosecutor who ordered the block on Telegram, was arrested for charges of corruption. It is unclear whether or not the charges were related to the ban on Telegram.[57]

Iraq

[edit]

On 6 August 2023, the Ministry of Communications in Iraq blocked Telegram due to leaked official state data and citizens' personal information on the platform. However, the block wasn't applied in the autonomous Kurdistan Region.[58][59]

On 13 August 2023, the ban was lifted after multiple offending channels were removed. The official statement from Iraq's MoC suggests that the app "responded to the requirements of the security authorities", while Telegram stated that "no private user data was requested from Telegram and that none has been shared".[60][61][62]

Norway

[edit]

On 23 March 2023, Norway's parliament, the Storting, officially banned Telegram for MPs on work devices that have access to its systems.[63][64]

Pakistan

[edit]

In October 2017, Telegram was inaccessible to users in Pakistan,[65] and as of 18 November 2017, it has been completely blocked on PTCL as per instructions from PTA, Pakistan's largest ISP, PTCL mentioned this in a tweet to a user.[66]

Russia

[edit]

On 16 May 2017, Russian media reported that Roskomnadzor was threatening to ban Telegram. On 13 April 2018, Telegram was banned in Russia by a Moscow court, due to its refusal to grant the Federal Security Service (FSB) access to encryption keys needed to view user communications as required by federal anti-terrorism law.[67][68] Enforcement of the ban was attempted by blocking over 19 million IP addresses associated with the service.[69] However, they included those used by Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform, due to Telegram's use of the providers to route messages. This led to unintended collateral damage due to usage of the platforms by other services in the country, including retail, Mastercard SecureCode, and Mail.ru's Tamtam messaging service. Users used VPNs to bypass the ban as a result.[70][71] On 17 April 2018, Russian authorities asked Apple and Google to pull the service from their stores as well as APKMirror, however, Apple and Google refused the request.[72][73] On 28 March 2018, Roskomnadzor reportedly sent a legally binding letter to Apple asking it to remove the app from the Russian version of its App Store and block it from sending push notifications to local users who have already downloaded the app.[74] On 27 December 2018, the largest search engine in Russia, Yandex, removed telegram.org from their search results.[citation needed] On 18 June 2020, the Russian government lifted its ban on Telegram after it agreed to "help with extremism investigations".[75]

Somalia

[edit]

On 20 August 2023, the Somali government announced a ban on the messaging app Telegram, along with the video-sharing platform TikTok and the online betting website 1XBet. The ban, which was set to go into effect on 24 August, targeted internet service providers and threatened legal action if they did not comply. Jama Hassan Khalif, the Minister of Communications and Technology, justified the ban by claiming that these platforms were being used by "terrorists and immoral groups" to "spread constant horrific images and misinformation to the public".[76][77][78][79][80] In the period leading up to the ban, explicit content, including sexual material, was widely posted in Telegram groups, causing concerns about online safety in Somalia, a conservative Muslim-majority country. These concerns were particularly strong regarding unsupervised youths. Moreover, this decision came shortly before the government planned to launch a second military offensive against al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-linked Islamist militant group that has been waging war against the Somali government for over 15 years. Al-Shabaab frequently uses TikTok and Telegram to post about their activities.

The ban was met with criticism from Somali citizens, particularly those who rely on those platforms for income. Many Somali users expressed concern that the ban would negatively impact their livelihoods. Some content creators argued that the government should have addressed their concerns by targeting individual users who violate platform guidelines instead of resorting to "collective punishment". Others highlighted that the platforms provided them with job opportunities and a source of income in a country facing high unemployment rates. There were also concerns that the ban would limit freedom of expression and access to information for Somali youth. Somali federal lawmaker and TikToker, Abdirahman Abdishakur, argued that the ban lacked due process and called for regulations and collaboration with social media companies instead of an outright ban. He emphasized the importance of these platforms for engaging with young people and understanding their perspectives on national issues.[78]

Spain

[edit]

On 22 March 2024, Audiencia Nacional judge Santiago Pedraz [es] issued the suspension of Telegram in the country as a "precautionary measure" after officials in the Virgin Islands reportedly failed to answer back a court request dating from July 2023.[81] The rationale behind this decision was a request made by media companies including Atresmedia, EGEDA, Mediaset and Telefónica[82] who argued that Telegram was being used to share copyrighted content.[83] On 25 March 2024, Pedraz revoked his previous decision as it would turn out to be "excessive and not proportionate".[84][85]

Thailand

[edit]

On 19 October 2020, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission was ordered to block Telegram due to its use in the 2020–2021 Thai protests.[86]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Social media restricted in Azerbaijan amid clashes with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh – NetBlocks". netblocks.org. 27 September 2020. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Leading Bahraini ISPs are Blocking Telegram Traffic". Bahrain Watch. 28 June 2016. Archived from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  3. ^ a b "There's more to Belarus's 'Telegram Revolution' than a cellphone app". The Washington Post. 11 September 2020. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2021. highlighting the use of the popular messaging app for sharing information.
  4. ^ Coalson, Robert. "How Telegram Users Found A Way Through Belarus's Internet Lockdown". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Archived from the original on 5 December 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  5. ^ "Telegram Blocks Channels That List Personal Data Of Russian Protesters, Law Enforcement". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 9 February 2021. Archived from the original on 5 April 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Apple asks Telegram to block channels involved in doxing Belarusian riot police". Meduza. Archived from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  7. ^ "Apple claims it has not requested blocking of Telegram channels on Belarus". TASS. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  8. ^ "Brazil electoral court could ban Telegram app for not fighting fake news". Reuters. 20 January 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  9. ^ "Telegram suspende contas após decisão do STF". 26 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  10. ^ "Moraes determina bloqueio de contas no Telegram e ameaça suspensão da plataforma" (in Brazilian Portuguese). CNN Brazil. 26 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  11. ^ "Telegram pode ser bloqueado por 48h no Brasil: entenda polêmicas envolvendo o aplicativo" (in Brazilian Portuguese). G1. 26 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  12. ^ "Alexandre manda prender e extraditar blogueiro Allan dos Santos do Terça Livre" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Istoé. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  13. ^ "Site bolsonarista Terça Livre encerrou suas atividades, diz fundador" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Poder360. 23 October 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  14. ^ "Brazil's supreme court suspends Telegram messaging app in the country". Reuters. 18 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  15. ^ Clark, Mitchell (18 March 2022). "Telegram forgot to check its email and now it's banned in Brazil". The Verge. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  16. ^ Clark, Mitchell (20 March 2022). "Telegram's ban in Brazil has been lifted". The Verge. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  17. ^ "Brazil court suspends Telegram app in neo-Nazi probe". France 24. Rio de Janeiro. Agence France-Presse. 26 April 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  18. ^ "Telegram app back on in Brazil after judge lifts suspension". The Hill. Associated Press. 29 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  19. ^ "China blocks Telegram messenger, blamed for aiding human rights lawyers – Hong Kong Free Press HKFP". 13 July 2015. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  20. ^ "Cuba's internet cutoff: A go-to tactic to suppress dissent". AP News. 13 July 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  21. ^ "Telegram sperrt 64 Kanäle" (in German). Sueddeutsche Zeitung. 11 February 2022. Archived from the original on 16 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  22. ^ "Telegram blocks over 60 channels in Germany — report". Deutsche Welle. 12 February 2022. Archived from the original on 14 February 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  23. ^ a b Mozur, Paul; Stevenson, Alexandra (13 June 2019). "Chinese Cyberattack Hits Telegram, App Used by Hong Kong Protesters". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  24. ^ "港示威期间服务受阻 Telegram指黑客攻击主要源自中国内地". 联合早报. 13 June 2019. Archived from the original on 14 June 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  25. ^ Yang, Yuli; Pham, Sherisse (13 June 2019). "Telegram reports powerful cyberattack from China during Hong Kong protests". CNN Business. Archived from the original on 13 June 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  26. ^ Dreyfuss, Emily (15 June 2019). "Security News This Week: Telegram Says China Is Behind DDoS". Wired. Archived from the original on 16 June 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  27. ^ "Telegram founder links cyber attack to China". BBC. 13 June 2019. Archived from the original on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  28. ^ Porter, Jon (13 June 2019). "Telegram blames China for 'powerful DDoS attack' during Hong Kong protests". The Verge. Archived from the original on 17 June 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  29. ^ "Urgent Statement of HKISPA on Selective Blocking of Internet Services". hkispa.org.hk. 28 August 2019. Archived from the original on 6 December 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  30. ^ "Hong Kong could move to block Telegram app, citing 'privacy violations'". Radio Free Asia.
  31. ^ "Reddit, Telegram among websites blocked in India: internet groups". Reuters India. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  32. ^ "Not just porn, users reveal Airtel, Jio, others also banning Telegram, VPNs and proxy sites in India". India Today. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  33. ^ Mandavia, Megha (5 November 2019). "Kerala High Court seeks Centre's views on plea to ban Telegram app". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 6 June 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  34. ^ Boy Riza Utama (15 July 2017). "Tak Perlu Blokir Telegram, Pengamat Sarankan Cara Ini kepada Mekominfo". Archived from the original on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  35. ^ "Telegram Setiap Hari Hapus 10 Grup Di Indonesia Terkait Konten Radikal dan Terorisme". 10 August 2017. Archived from the original on 12 May 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  36. ^ "تلگرام فیلتر نشده است" (in Persian). Tehran: Tasnim News Agency. 11 May 2015. Archived from the original on 28 October 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015. Though it is claimed by many that the Telegram is banned, but it is operating normally in Iran.
  37. ^ a b Alimardani, Mahsa (28 August 2015). "Is Telegram's Compliance with Iran Compromising the Digital Security of Its Users?". Global Voices Online. Archived from the original on 11 September 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  38. ^ "Telegram FAQ". Telegram. Archived from the original on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  39. ^ Dillet, Romain (30 May 2016). "Iran forces messaging apps to move data to Iranian servers". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 12 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  40. ^ "Iranian Judiciary Blocks Popular Telegram App's New Voice Call Service – Center for Human Rights in Iran". www.iranhumanrights.org. 20 April 2017. Archived from the original on 12 May 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  41. ^ "واعظی خبر داد: ممنوعیت پرداخت در شبکههای اجتماعی خارجی /اگر میخواهید مخابرات و 3 اپراتور ورشکست شوند تلگرام صوتی رفع فیلتر شود – ایستنا". www.ictna.ir. Archived from the original on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  42. ^ "Telegram is shutting down a channel that called for violent protests against Iran's government". 30 December 2017. Archived from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  43. ^ "Twitter conversation between Nariman Gharib and Pavel Durov". 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2021.[self-published]
  44. ^ "Iran restricts social media and issues stern warning to protesters". 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 15 May 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  45. ^ "Iran Unblocks Widely Used Messaging App Telegram After Two Weeks – Center for Human Rights in Iran". www.iranhumanrights.org. 12 January 2018. Archived from the original on 12 May 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  46. ^ "بروجردی: تلگرام به زودی فیلتر می شود". 31 March 2018. Archived from the original on 1 April 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  47. ^ Staff, Al-Monitor (2 April 2018). "Is Iran ready to block Telegram?". Al-Monitor. Archived from the original on 12 May 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  48. ^ Staff, Al-Monitor (3 April 2018). "Rouhani administration pushes back against Telegram blocking". Al-Monitor. Archived from the original on 12 May 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  49. ^ "Iran Poised to Block Popular Telegram Messaging App But Lacks Feasible Alternative – Center for Human Rights in Iran". www.iranhumanrights.org. 5 April 2018. Archived from the original on 12 May 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  50. ^ Erdbrink, Thomas (1 May 2018). "Iran, Like Russia Before It, Tries to Block Telegram App (Published 2018)". Archived from the original on 6 November 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2021 – via NYTimes.com.
  51. ^ هشدار تلگرام درباره ناامن بودن "هاتگرام" و "طلاگرام" (in Persian), 17 December 2018, archived from the original on 20 November 2020, retrieved 14 June 2019
  52. ^ "Iranians Return To Banned Telegram As It Proves Effective In Flood Relief". RFE/RL. 11 April 2019. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  53. ^ "Why Did Telegram Warn Users That Iranian Versions of the Telegram App—Talaeii and Hotgram—Are "Unsafe"?". Center for Human Rights in Iran. 17 December 2018. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  54. ^ Esfandiari, Golnaz. "Iran's Social-Media Struggles Laid Bare By Telegram And Cleric's Viral Moment". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Archived from the original on 10 December 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  55. ^ "موحدی کرمانی: باید مثل چینیها روی اینترنت بومی متمرکز شویم | DW | 1 March 2019". DW.COM. Archived from the original on 3 March 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  56. ^ نت, العربية (1 March 2019). "خطیب جمعه تهران: تلگرام حرام است؛ مانند چینیها عمل کنیم". العربية نت. Archived from the original on 13 October 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  57. ^ "Iran arrests prosecutor behind ban on popular messaging app". AP NEWS. 1 October 2019. Archived from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  58. ^ "تَلفتُ وزارة الاتصالات انتباه... – وزارة الاتصالات العراقية". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  59. ^ "Iraq blocks Telegram app, cites personal data violations". Reuters. 6 August 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  60. ^ "العراق يرفع الحظر عن تطبيق "تلغرام"". Facebook. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  61. ^ "Iraq says will lift ban on Telegram".
  62. ^ "Iraq to unblock Telegram app as platform responded to security requirements -statement". Reuters. 12 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  63. ^ "Norwegian parliament joins the government in TikTok ban". The Local. 23 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  64. ^ "Alle på Stortinget må slette Tiktok "så raskt som mulig"" [Everyone in the Storting must delete Tiktok "as quickly as possible"]. Dagens Næringsliv (in Norwegian). 23 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  65. ^ "Telegram, the Secure Alternative to Whatsapp, is Down in Pakistan". 24 October 2017. Archived from the original on 12 May 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  66. ^ "Telegram Blocked in Pakistan!". 18 November 2017. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  67. ^ Roth, Andrew (13 April 2018). "Moscow court bans Telegram messaging app". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  68. ^ MacFarquhar, Neil (13 April 2018). "Russian Court Bans Telegram App After 18-Minute Hearing". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 13 April 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  69. ^ "Russia's game of Telegram whack-a-mole grows to 19M blocked IPs, hitting Twitch, Spotify and more – TechCrunch". techcrunch.com. 19 April 2018. Archived from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  70. ^ "Russia's Telegram ban is a big, convoluted mess". The Verge. Archived from the original on 21 May 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  71. ^ Wilmoth, Josiah (17 April 2018). "Russia's Telegram Ban Is a Fiasco, and It's Rendering Millions of IP Addresses Inaccessible". Privacy Online News. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  72. ^ "Russia asks Apple to remove Telegram from App Store after banning the encrypted messaging service". 9to5Mac. 17 April 2018. Archived from the original on 12 May 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  73. ^ McInnes, Laura (17 April 2018). "Russian Government Told APKMirror to Remove Telegram". www.howtochatonline.net. Archived from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  74. ^ "Roskomnadzor requires Apple to stop distributing the Telegram application in Russia and sending its push notifications". 28 March 2018. Archived from the original on 4 October 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  75. ^ "Russia lifts ban on private messaging app Telegram". The Independent. 18 June 2020. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  76. ^ "Somalia bans TikTok, Telegram and 1XBet over 'horrific' content, misinformation". Reuters. 21 August 2023. Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  77. ^ "Somalia orders ban on TikTok, Telegram". Deutsche Welle. Reuters, Associated Press. 21 August 2023. Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  78. ^ a b Caato, Bashir Mohamed (26 August 2023). "Outcry in Somalia over government decision to ban TikTok, Telegram". Al Jazeera English. Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  79. ^ "Somalia bans TikTok and Telegram". Le Monde. Agence France-Presse. 21 August 2023. Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  80. ^ "Somalia bans TikTok and Telegram to curb "terrorist" propaganda". Africanews. Agence France-Presse. 13 August 2023. Archived from the original on 21 August 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  81. ^ "Telegram ban in Spain". Euro Weekly News. 23 March 2024. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  82. ^ "Spain: Judge orders Telegram to be blocked nationwide – DW – 03/23/2024". dw.com. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  83. ^ "Spanish judge orders nationwide suspension of Telegram". The Straits Times. 24 March 2024. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  84. ^ "Spanish judge orders nationwide suspension of Telegram". elconfidencial.com (in Spanish). 24 March 2024. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  85. ^ Campos, Miguel Ángel (25 March 2024). "El juez da vía libre a Telegram al considerar que el bloqueo sería una medida "excesiva y no proporcional"". Cadena SER.
  86. ^ "Embattled Thai PM recalls parliament as thousands protest". Al Jazeera English. 19 October 2020. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. A top official with the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) confirmed reports on Monday that the agency had been ordered to block access to Telegram.