The Russian Prosecutor General\u2019s Office has filed an administrative claim with the Supreme Court seeking to have Telegram Messenger Inc. designated as an \u00abextremist organisation\u00bb and to ban its activities in the country. This is confirmed by a photograph of the covering letter dated 29 July, which has been published by the Russian media. The court is to decide whether to accept the application and set a date for the hearing.<\/p>\n
Briefly about the main points<\/strong><\/p>\n The covering letter states that an administrative claim by the Russian Prosecutor General has been submitted to the court. The package contained the 21-page claim itself, 345 pages of material from the prosecutor\u2019s investigation and a digital storage device. The document was signed by V. A. Shevchenko, a prosecutor from the relevant department of the Prosecutor General\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n The submission of documents does not mean that the messaging app has already been banned. The Supreme Court must register the application, decide whether to accept it for consideration, and schedule a hearing. Under Russian procedure, a court ruling that has become final is required to include an organisation on the list of extremist organisations.<\/p>\n If the court grants the prosecution\u2019s request, this will create a legal basis for the platform to be completely blocked in Russia. The risks may relate to Telegram\u2019s official representation, advertising of the service, financial transactions in its favour and the company\u2019s public presence.<\/p>\n The mere use of the app or reading its channels is not defined as a separate offence under Russian criminal law. At the same time, the legislation provides for liability for organising the activities of an already banned extremist organisation, recruiting members to it, and participating in it. Consequently, the practical extent of the risk for administrators, employees and commercial partners will depend on court rulings and the practices of the Russian law enforcement agencies.<\/p>\n For the Russian authorities themselves, the ban will also create a communication problem: Telegram<\/a> The Kremlin, government ministries, law enforcement agencies, regional governors, state media and military propagandists are all making use of this. They will have to shut down their channels or move their audience to other platforms.<\/p>\n The lawsuit was filed after Russia\u2019s FSB accused the founder of Telegram Pavel Durov<\/strong> in allegedly facilitating terrorist activities. The Russian side claims that Ukrainian security services used the messaging app to recruit Russian citizens and plan acts of sabotage. Telegram has rejected Moscow\u2019s allegations, whilst Durov had previously described the restrictions as an attempt to drive users towards MAX, a messaging app controlled by the Kremlin.<\/p>\n\n
The case is still to be heard by the Supreme Court<\/h2>\n
What consequences might a ban have?<\/h2>\n
Pressure on the messaging app has been mounting since February<\/h2>\n