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Telegram CEO Pavel Durov Blames Reliance, WhatsApp for Alleged Role in Bid to Ban Telegram in India
Durov said Reliance used BGP hijacking to block Telegram for millions of users outside India and suggested a competitive motive involving WhatsApp.
- On Tuesday, CEO Pavel Durov accused Reliance of disrupting Telegram access for users outside India, including the UAE, via BGP Hijacking, posting screenshots as evidence and escalating the matter with UAE telecom operator du.
- Durov suggested a competitive motive, claiming Reliance is partially owned by Mark Zuckerberg-owned Meta, WhatsApp's parent company, and alleged both entities may be behind lobbying efforts to ban Telegram in India.
- A senior telecom industry source dismissed the claims as 'fake news,' saying Durov confused Reliance Communications with Jio, where Meta holds only a minority stake and has no involvement in subsea cable operations.
- Authorities banned Telegram in India until June 22 over NEET-UG exam security concerns, prompting Google to remove the app from the Play Store, with NTA Director General Abhishek Singh defending the restriction as necessary for exam integrity.
- Durov warned that "such abuse of global Internet routing is alarming," highlighting infrastructure vulnerabilities, while the Internet Freedom Foundation called the ban disproportionate; authorities further ordered Telegram to disable message-editing until June 30.
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17 Articles
17 Articles
Telegram CEO claims Reliance, WhatsApp's role behind efforts to ban company's app in India
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov accuses Reliance Group and WhatsApp of lobbying to ban his app in India. He also claims Reliance is disrupting Telegram access for users globally. A telecom source dismisses these claims, stating Durov confuses two separate Reliance entities. The Indian government has ordered Telegram's delisting from app stores to prevent exam paper leaks.
·India
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Pavel Durov claims Reliance is sabotaging Telegram access outside India, likely to benefit WhatsApp
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has accused Reliance Communications (RCom) of blocking access to Telegram outside India. The claim puts focus on an alleged restriction affecting the messaging platform.
·India
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources17
Leaning Left3Leaning Right3Center1Last UpdatedBias Distribution43% Left, 43% Right
Bias Distribution
- 43% of the sources lean Left, 43% of the sources lean Right
43% Right
L 43%
14%
R 43%
Factuality
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