MOSCOW, February 18. /TASS/. Telegram can fulfill Roskomnadzor’s realistic requirements within a month or month and a half to continue operating in Russia, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy Andrey Svintsov told TASS.

"Opening a legal entity takes a week at most. Moving personal data processing takes another two or three weeks. Therefore, within a month or a month and a half, the entire set of requirements from Roskomnadzor can be fulfilled: opening a legal entity, storing data on Russian territory, paying taxes and blocking content," the deputy said.

He noted Telegram has begun actively complying with illegal content blocking requirements. "Over the past week, Telegram has blocked more than 230,000 Telegram channels and pieces of content that violated current legislation. This indicates that [messenger co-founder Pavel] Durov's company has begun to interact more actively," Svintsov stated. "In my opinion, Telegram will not be blocked before April 1."

Earlier, Media outlets have reported that the Telegram messenger may be fully blocked starting April 1. Roskomnadzor’s press service stated that the agency has nothing to add to previously published information regarding the possible blocking of Telegram. Roskomnadzor said that Telegram does not comply with Russian legislation, that personal data are not adequately protected, and that there are no effective measures to counter fraud and the use of the messenger for criminal and terrorist purposes. In this regard, the regulator will continue introducing consistent restrictions in order to secure compliance with Russian legislation and ensure the protection of citizens.