Telegram is fighting for its life in Russia

The Russian authorities are formally moving ahead with the process by which they could block the use of Telegram on Russian soil. On March 20 Roskomnadzor, the Internet and telecom regulator, officially informed Telegram that it’s in noncompliance with the law, after Telegram refused to provide decrypted copies of all user correspondence to the Federal Security Service.

If the messenger doesn’t cave to the Russian government, Roskomnadzor can sue Telegram and bring Russians even closer to losing access to the service. It’s still unclear, however, how long it might be before the authorities could finally decide to order Russian Internet service providers to start blocking Telegram.