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Media watchdog informs Telegram of need to provide information to law enforcement agencies

Telegram is a popular messaging service launched by Russian entrepreneur Pavel Durov

© Sergei Konkov/TASS

MOSCOW, March 20. /TASS/. Telegram messaging service has been informed of the need to provide information to law enforcement agencies in compliance with law, Russia’s media watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said in a statement published on its website.

"Based on Article 15.4 of the Federal Law on Information, Information Technologies and Data Protection (restriction of information disseminators’ access to Internet), Roskomnadzor has sent a notification to Telegram Messenger Limited, informing about the need to fulfill the responsibilities imposed on information disseminators," the statement reads.

According to Roskomnadzor, a court ruling that entered into force on December 12, 2017, confirms that Telegram has failed to fulfill responsibilities prescribed by law. "The above mentioned responsibilities should be fulfilled within 15 days after the notification is received," the watchdog stressed.

Telegram issue

Earlier on Tuesday, a representative of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) told the Supreme Court that the FSB did not believe that the law on correspondence privacy could be applied to messaging services. The FSB cited the Russian Constitutional Court’s position.

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