‘Damaging govt prestige’: Russian MPs seek to UNBLOCK banned messenger app Telegram amid Covid-19 pandemic

In 2018, Russia’s block of the popular messenger app Telegram created international headlines. Now, despite restricted access, officials are using it to share the latest Covid-19 news – and two Russian MPs want the ban lifted.

On Wednesday, two State Duma deputies, Dmitry Ionin and Fedot Tumusov, proposed a law that would prohibit the blocking of Telegram during high-alert and emergency situations.

The politicians sent a letter to the head of the Ministry of Communications and Mass Media, saying that the app now fulfills a socially significant function.

Despite the service being blocked, both the Russian and Moscow governments are actively using Telegram to inform the public about the latest Covid-19 developments.

Most noteworthy is the national government’s official coronavirus channel, which has more than 280,000 subscribers, and provides daily updates on the newest figures, explains the nation’s ever-tightening anti-virus measures, and answers commonly asked questions.

Furthermore, according to the politicians’ letter, Telegram has been used by the government to send alerts to Russian tourists remaining abroad and unable to return home during the pandemic.

Tumusov and Ionin explained that most Russian users manage to bypass the restrictions by using free online tools. According to the two politicians, the block doesn’t damage the service and instead simply damages “the prestige of state power.”

Telegram has been blocked in Russia since April 2018, after a Moscow court ruled that restrictions should be imposed after the app’s maker refused to give Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) access to encrypted user correspondence.

The FSB argued that the app has been used by criminals and terrorists, such as the perpetrators of the April 2017 terrorist attack on St Petersburg’s Metro, which killed 15.

Telegram, for its part, has repeatedly stated that it’s ready to co-operate with the authorities, but stressed that it was keen to maintain users’ privacy.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the service must remain blocked while the court order stands. “The de facto situation is different, but I will refrain from making any comments,” he said.

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