ROSTOV-ON-DON, August 29. /TASS/. Russian Deputy Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media Alexei Volin believes that Telegram’s founders have enough resources to avoid blocking, so the messenger was not blocked completely.

"Nothing can be totally blocked on the Internet today. If the one whom you block has enough intellectual, material and IT resources, then the big player can avoid the blocking. This is a situation we have to live with," Volin told journalists in Rostov-on-Don during a working visit, answering a TASS question on why the messenger was not fully blocked.

On August 28, the Telegram instant messaging service renewed its privacy policy and may now disclose information about net users to intelligence services following a court’s decision. According to the new policy, the company may disclose the IP-address and mobile phone number of a user upon receiving a court ruling which confirms that the user is suspected of terrorism.

Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media evinced a restrained reaction over this news, reiterating that the messenger has not fulfilled the requirements set for information-dissemination organizers, so the watchdog will consider the unblocking only if the messenger complies with the court’s order to give keys for decrypting users’ messages to the Federal Security Service (FSB).