Telegram Agrees to Register Company in Russia, 'But Will Not Share User Data'

Pavel Durov, the founder of the Telegram application, agreed on Wednesday, July 7, to register the company in Russia after prolonged pressure from the Russian government, but stated that Telegram will not provide user privacy information to anyone. According to Reuters, Russian government officials have long pressured the company, claiming that terrorists used the Telegram messaging app to carry out a deadly terrorist attack. The agency responsible for communications oversight in Russia had warned that if Telegram did not provide the necessary information for registering the messaging network to the responsible authorities, it would be blocked. After registering in Russia, Telegram will be required to collect information about users of this network in Russia on its servers and provide this information to government authorities upon request. Pavel Durov stated in a post on social media that he does not oppose registering the company in Russia and providing general information about its activities, but he is absolutely unwilling to jeopardize the privacy of the network's users. He wrote in part: 'We will not implement laws that contradict the policy of protecting user privacy or the information and private lives of people.' Russian security agencies said on Monday that terrorists had used the Telegram messaging network to carry out attacks on Russian soil. Previously, other government agencies in the country had also accused Telegram of violating Russian communications laws. Roskomnadzor, the agency responsible for communications oversight in Russia, threatened on Friday that if Telegram did not provide information about the company owning this network for registration in Russia, the network would be blocked. According to this agency, Telegram had previously refused to comply with this request. The Federal Security Service of Russia also added to this pressure on Monday, stating that Telegram 'has enabled terrorists to create a highly encrypted secret chat room.' This agency added that a suicide bomber who killed 15 people by detonating himself at the St. Petersburg metro station on April 3 of this year used Telegram to plan and execute this attack with his accomplices. According to this agency, Telegram is used more by terrorists in Russia than any other social network and messaging service. The founder of Telegram wrote on social media on Monday that the agency responsible for communications oversight in Russia has asked the company to provide access keys to encrypted user messages to security agencies for the arrest of terrorists. Mr. Durov added that this request contradicts the constitution, which respects the right to private and confidential correspondence between individuals, and is technically impossible. He stated that if the Russian government blocks Telegram, terrorists will use other social networks and messaging services where all user messages are also encrypted. Mr. Durov added: 'If you want to defeat terrorism by blocking, you must block the entire internet.'