One of the main state authorities in Russia opposed the State Duma's proposal to cancel the ban on the use of an encrypted Telegram communicator in the country.
The Russian Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media, also known as MinComSvyaz, does not support the recent initiative to lift the two-year ban on using the Telegram, the local news agency Interfax informed on May 26.
On 22 April, two MPs from the State Duma proposed a draft law to end the telegram ban in Russia due to the outbreak of coronavirus.
The draft provides that the Telegram has become an "official service" used by some state authorities to raise awareness of measures to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic and disseminate relevant information about the coronavirus.
In response to the State Duma's bill, MinComSvyaz reportedly claimed that Russia does not need any other tools to disseminate information than existing services, such as official websites. The authorities reportedly stated that the process of placing information on the Internet in Russia "is already improved". Therefore, the Russian federal law "About Information" does not need any additional regulatory measures, the ministry added.
The authorities also stressed that the draft law does not contain an "implementation mechanism" that would define the entity authorized to decide on the lifting of bans on the use of information resources in Russia
