14 DAY TRIAL // Russia’s struggle to ban Telegram in the country for not providing law enforcement with access to conversations continues, this time with an official request aimed at Cupertino-based tech giant Apple.
The local communications watchdog has requested Apple to block push notifications for Telegram users in Russia in an attempt to limit the functionality of the service on iOS devices.
Roskomnadzor believes that if users do not receive notifications when someone sends them messages on Telegram, the service would slowly be abandoned, eventually making the ban more effective.
Russia originally blocked access to Telegram earlier this year, but many local users bypassed the restriction by switching to VPN services or proxies to connect to the instant messaging service. Russian Telegram founder Pavel Durov also received support from other companies to keep the platform running for users in the country.
Apple yet to issue a response
Apple has one month to respond to the request, and so far, the company hasn’t offered a statement regarding its position over Russia’s attempt to block Telegram.
“In order to avoid possible action by Roskomnadzor for violations of the functioning of the above-mentioned Apple Inc. service, we ask you to inform us as soon as possible about your company's further actions to resolve the problematic issue,” the communications regulator was quoted as saying.
This isn’t the first time Russia asks Apple to support the Telegram ban. Shortly after the block was announced in April this year, the telecom watchdog demanded a series of companies, including Apple and Google, to remove the app from their local app stores.
But at the same time, all tech giants have been requested by the American Civil Liberties Union, a nonprofit civil rights organization, to resist all these demands and keep Telegram alive in the country.
Russia is also currently discussing with Google on further restrictions to prevent users from connecting to Telegram on Android devices.