MOSCOW, Feb 26 (Reuters) – Russian authorities have decided on a time frame for blocking the Telegram messaging app and this may happen in early April, the RBC news outlet reported on Thursday.
Telegram is a hugely popular tool in Russia for both public and private communications, but the authorities accuse it of allowing itself to be used as a platform for illegal and extremist content.
Telegram rejects this, saying Russia is trying to throttle it in order to force people to switch to a new state-run app called MAX.
RBC said that by April, Telegram would only be available on the front lines of the war in Ukraine. Military sources, war correspondents and politicians have said Russian troops rely heavily on it, not only for communicating with their families back home but also for operational purposes.
(Reporting by Maxim Rodionov; Writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Alison Williams)
