Parliament prepares bill to regulate Telegram
The Ukrainian parliament will consider a bill aimed at regulating Telegram in Ukraine by late September, parliamentary Information Policy Committee announced on Aug. 29.
Mykola Kniazhytskyi MP, the sponsor of the bill, stated that the document does not intend to outright block the messenger app in Ukraine or de-anonymize its users.
According to Kniazhytskyi, the bill will oblige the platform to establish communication with Ukrainian authorities to ensure compliance with the law and prove that Russian state institutions have no stake in Telegram.
The committee added that the final version of the bill will reflect the concerns of the public and “new circumstances” related to the messenger app.
On Aug. 24, Telegram founder Pavel Durov was detained in Paris. The 39-year-old entrepreneur arrived in the French capital from Azerbaijan on a private jet, accompanied by a bodyguard and an unidentified woman.
French police have accused Durov of 12 crimes related to his refusal to moderate content on Telegram in accordance with French law. He faces charges including drug trafficking, cybercrimes, fraud, dissemination of child pornography, and money laundering.
In a statement, Telegram called it "absurd to claim that the platform or its owner is responsible for abuses on this platform."
The military war may be swinging in our favor, but the information war continues.
Just as an army needs soldiers, so does a free society need its journalists to ensure that people have access to honest, trustworthy voices to understand the world around them.
For the past five years, The New Voice of Ukraine has been working tirelessly to push back against Russian narratives and defend democracy. But we cannot do it alone.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon for just $5 a month – your donation does directly to supporting journalists and ensuring that this front of the infowar says solid and defended.
Thank you.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
