The Kremlin considers the Telegram messenger convenient and uses it, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday.
“You know that there are a lot of messengers. Telegram is very convenient, indeed, we use it, including for communication with journalists. It will be very unfortunate if the consensus is not reached, but for now, as far as we understand, it has not been achieved. The law is the law, and if it is not complied with [by Telegram] and relevant measures are taken, we will look for an alternative that best suits our needs,” Peskov told reporters, commenting on the issue.
“Under the Article 15.4 of the Federal Law ‘On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection’, on Friday, April 6, Roskomnadzor filed a lawsuit with the Tagansky District Court of Moscow requesting to restrict access to the information resources of the Telegram Messenger Limited Liability Partnership … on the territory of Russia,” the watchdog’s statement read.
READ MORE: Telegram May Enter Cryptocurrency Fray to Challenge Visa, MasterCard
Earlier, Telegram lawyers challenged FSB's decree number 432 that provides for "organizers of the dissemination of information" to grant data required for decoding to security agencies.
In December 2017, Telegram was fined for $13,600 for its refusal to provide Russian security services with information to decode the messages of those accused in the case of a terrorist attack in Russian city of St. Petersburg.