Russia testing technology to ban encrypted messaging app Telegram: report

Russia is reportedly exploring new measures to block online apps, the latest step in authorities efforts to crack down on the messaging app Telegram.

The country is having a difficult time shutting down Telegram in Russia without inadvertently shutting down other digital services as well, including another messaging app, Viber, as well as apps for Volvo cars and video camera apps. To get around this, since early August, Russia’s communications watchdog Roskomnadzor and state security agency the FSB have been testing more precise blocking systems, reports Reuters.

{mosads}Russian officials had previously tried to block IP addresses of sites being hosted by Amazon Web Services and Google, but because IP addresses can host traffic for different sites, more services than the intended target were often affected.

The new technology being tested, called deep packet inspection, has yet to work properly, according to sources Reuters spoke with.

Telegram has made a name for itself by establishing its brand as a staunchly private application that doesn’t concede to the demands of countries. This stance has brought it scrutiny from authoritarian regimes who have demanded access to information and chat logs of its users.

Russian authorities announced that they would block Telegram in April after it declined to comply with a court order for access to its users’ encrypted messages.