Russia lifts futile two-year ban on Telegram Messenger

Russia has canceled its ineffective two-year ban on messaging app Telegram, Reuters reports. The service had been blocked since April 2018 due to the company’s refusal to share its encryption keys with Moscow’s secret services — a requirement of Russia‘s anti-terrorism laws. However, the service had remained widely available and popular throughout the ban. Kremlin critics cast the U-turn as an admission of defeat, but telecom watchdog Roskomnadzor said it was lifting the restrictions because the company had shown a willingness to tackle terrorism and extremism on the platform. [Read: Meet Orwell, Russia’s cute and totally not sinister new facial…

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