According to Durov, the ban on Telegram will undermine Russia’s national security and contribute to the deterioration of the quality of life of “15 million Russians.” Having taken to Russian social media network VK, Durov has outlined the key consequences of Roskomnadzor’s [Russia’s communications watchdog] decision.
“Russia’s national security will decrease because a share of Russians’ personal data would be transferred from a neutral to Russia platform to WhatsApp and Facebook, controlled from the United States,” Durov wrote on his page.
Telegram’s CEO called the watchdog’s decision “unconstitutional” and insisted that he would keep defending the right of the Russian people to secret correspondence. Durov has also suggested a symbol for "digital resistance" — a hooded dog, which is a modified version of the unofficial VK logo.
READ MORE: Kremlin to Use ICQ Instead of Banned Telegram – Journalist
The app’s ban came into effect on April 16, and was imposed as a result of Telegram’s failure to give the Russia Federal Security Service (FSB) the encryption keys to decipher messages, as required by Russian law. According to the security service, the messenger is often being used by terrorists, who coordinate terror attacks on Russia’s soil.
