MOSCOW, March 20. /TASS/. Telegram messaging service has not received any requests for providing decryption keys from the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) since the summer of 2017, said lawyer Ramil Akhmetgaliyev, who represents the company in Russia’s Supreme Court.
"We have received no requests from the FSB since the summer of 2017, and the company is yet to decide what to do if new requests come in," the lawyer said.
Telegram issue
Earlier on Tuesday, the Supreme Court turned down a request filed by Telegram management for declaring void a FSB order demanding the company provide keys for decoding users’ messages.
In October 2017, a Moscow magistrates court ordered the London-based Telegram Messenger LLP to pay a fine of 800,000 rubles ($13,800) for refusing to meet the FSB’s demand on handing over information for decoding messages. The company later challenged the decision but a district court later upheld it.
Telegram is a popular messaging service launched by Russian entrepreneur Pavel Durov.