The portal "Sboy.rf" recorded 12,000 complaints about Telegram in one day.
Telegram has already begun to be restricted in Russia, according to experts interviewed by Kommersant FM. According to the portal Sboy.rf, 12,000 complaints about the messaging app's malfunction were received on March 15, and almost 6,000 the day before, on Saturday.
Media outlets previously reported on a possible complete block on Telegram in early April. The publication stated that to continue operating in Russia, the messaging app must comply with legal requirements. Among the key conditions, authorities cited were the removal of prohibited content and the storage of Russian user data exclusively within the country.
Vladislav Voitenko, a tech expert and author of the publication "Durova's Code," told Kommersant FM that over the past 24 hours, Telegram has been virtually unavailable for users of home providers when connecting via Russian IP addresses. According to Voitenko, messages aren't being sent, the app takes a long time to establish a connection, and sometimes loading takes several minutes. He also described Telegram's mobile data connection as virtually unavailable. Voitenko added that in cities where only whitelisted websites are available, many VPN services prevent access to the messenger.
Alexey Amelkin, President of the MAKATEL Telecom Operators Association, also reported problems. Speaking on Kommersant FM, Amelkin noted that Telegram's slowdowns had been observed for a long time, but that complaints about the desktop version also emerged the day before. The head of MAKATEL clarified that there are no precise statistics yet for operators, as some users connect via VPN, making it difficult to determine whether the service is working or not.
Amelkin added that tests show that Telegram's performance likely depends on the network type, region, and even the specific connection location. The association representative did not rule out the possibility that government agencies are applying different conditions in different regions during testing, so there is no clear picture yet.
Telegram has already begun to be restricted in Russia, according to experts interviewed by Kommersant FM. According to the portal Sboy.rf, 12,000 complaints about the messaging app's malfunction were received on March 15, and almost 6,000 the day before, on Saturday.
Media outlets previously reported on a possible complete block on Telegram in early April. The publication stated that to continue operating in Russia, the messaging app must comply with legal requirements. Among the key conditions, authorities cited were the removal of prohibited content and the storage of Russian user data exclusively within the country.
Vladislav Voitenko, a tech expert and author of the publication "Durova's Code," told Kommersant FM that over the past 24 hours, Telegram has been virtually unavailable for users of home providers when connecting via Russian IP addresses. According to Voitenko, messages aren't being sent, the app takes a long time to establish a connection, and sometimes loading takes several minutes. He also described Telegram's mobile data connection as virtually unavailable. Voitenko added that in cities where only whitelisted websites are available, many VPN services prevent access to the messenger.
Alexey Amelkin, President of the MAKATEL Telecom Operators Association, also reported problems. Speaking on Kommersant FM, Amelkin noted that Telegram's slowdowns had been observed for a long time, but that complaints about the desktop version also emerged the day before. The head of MAKATEL clarified that there are no precise statistics yet for operators, as some users connect via VPN, making it difficult to determine whether the service is working or not.
Amelkin added that tests show that Telegram's performance likely depends on the network type, region, and even the specific connection location. The association representative did not rule out the possibility that government agencies are applying different conditions in different regions during testing, so there is no clear picture yet.
