Russian regulators claim that Telegram is still not complying with Russian law even after being recently slapped with a hefty fine.
The news came as Russia fined messaging app Telegram 35 million rubles ($432,366) for failing to remove banned content, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported on Monday.
Authorities have repeatedly accused Telegram, one of the most popular messaging apps in Russia, of allowing itself to be used as a platform for illegal and extremist content.
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Telegram has rejected the allegation and accused Russia of trying to disrupt its services to force people to switch to the government app called Max.
As Russia recently fined Telegram, authorities have repeatedly accused Telegram, one of the most popular messaging apps in Russia, of allowing itself to be used as a platform for illegal and extremist content.
However, Telegram rejected the allegation and described the fine as politically motivated. The company accused Russia of attempting to disrupt its services to encourage users to shift to MAX, a state-run messaging application recently introduced in the country.
Experts say the controversy reflects growing tensions between tech companies and governments around the world over content moderation.
In particular, experts said Telegram remains one of the most used messaging apps in Russia, making the conflict highly significant for both users and regulators.
