The State Duma threatens to completely block Telegram for violating Russian law.
“Telegram is cooperating with the Russian authorities in a tight-lipped manner. This won't work.”
The State Duma believes that Telegram is being blocked because the messenger “does not fully comply with the requirements” of the Russian Federation.
State Duma Deputy Andrei Svintsov told Ostrogozhno Novosti that Telegram is not fully complying with Russian law and is cooperating with Roskomnadzor, but doing so in a “half-hearted manner,” meaning “Telegram is so great, and Russia is so poorly run.”
“This won't work. If TG wants to be present and earn billions of dollars in Russia, we're fine with that. We have every opportunity to do so. But we must comply with Russian law,” Svintsov said.
According to him, the company must have a physical presence in Russia and pay taxes, but “the budget isn't seeing this money right now.” “If Roskomnadzor has decided to send them another signal, then that's it, and I fully support it. We need to gently force them to comply with Russian law,” Svintsov added. He noted that, in his personal opinion, the technical and legal discussions will continue for another six months, during which time the question of completely blocking the messenger will be decided. There is no official information yet.
