Russia’s telecom watchdog on Friday asked a Moscow court to block the popular messaging app Telegram after the expiry of a deadline for it to give the state security services access to private conversations.
The lawsuit is the latest move in an ongoing battle between authorities and Telegram, which has a reputation for secure communications, as Moscow pushes to increase surveillance of internet activities.
Roskomnadzor said in a statement it had filed a suit “demanding the limiting of access on Russian territory” to the service. But a lawyer representing Telegram said any ban would be unconstitutional andimpossible to enforce.
