US EditionTelegram's Durov says Russia triggered payment system problem by blocking VPNs
Durov said tens of millions of Russians turned to VPNs as authorities tried to curb foreign apps and promote the state-backed MAX messenger.
- On Saturday, Telegram founder Pavel Durov claimed that Russia's attempt to block Virtual Private Networks triggered a domestic payment system problem on Friday, affecting millions of Russians resisting digital controls.
- Russian officials defend the clampdown on VPNs as essential for security, citing attacks from Ukraine and alleged sabotage by Western intelligence agencies, in what diplomats have called a "great crackdown."
- Sberbank reported technical issues on Friday, while the outage sowed chaos for shoppers, forcing the Moscow metro to open turnstiles without payment and requiring a regional zoo to accept only cash.
- Telegram, which has more than 1 billion active users, denies penetration claims, while the Kremlin is attempting to force citizens to use MAX, a state-backed messenger app.
- Durov welcomed users to the "Digital Resistance" on Saturday, stating the nation is mobilized to bypass restrictions, even as Russian officials investigate him in a criminal case involving terrorism accusations.
31 Articles
31 Articles
Founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, said Saturday that the attempt by the Russian authorities to block private virtual networks (VPN) caused a technical defect in a payment system in Russia, an incident that affected millions of users, transmitted Reuters.
Channel News Asia
Telegram's Durov says Russia triggered payment system problem by blocking VPNs
Telegram founder Pavel Durov said on Saturday Russia's attempt to block Virtual Private Networks triggered a problem with a domestic payment system, adding that tens of millions of Russians were now resisting the digital controls.
Telegram founder says 65 million Russians use app daily via VPN despite blocking attempts
Telegram founder Pavel Durov broke his silence on Russia’s attempts to block the messaging app, writing in a post on his Telegram channel that Russian authorities had already tried to ban Telegram and spent years trying to ban VPNs.
The Russian government is pushing the population to use the state-controlled Messenger MAX. The state is increasingly blocking foreign services such as Telegram or WhatsApp and is taking action against VPN networks that allow for the avoidance of the barriers. Diplomats speak of a "hard gripping" of the state.
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