Hundreds rally in Moscow for restoration of Telegram messaging app

Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Moscow on Sunday to demand that the Russian government stop blocking the messaging app Telegram, Reuters reported.

“The authorities want to take away our secret messages, our private lives,” opposition politician Mikhail Kasyanov told the protesters, according to Reuters. “The internet is the main freedom that exists for all of us. We cannot let that happen.”

The protesters were seen carrying signs critical of Internet censorship and chanting anti-government slogans. Many tossed paper airplanes in reference to Telegram’s logo.

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The Russian communications watchdog Roskomnadzor blocked the popular Telegram app in April after it refused to give Russia’s state security access to encrypted messages users sent on the app.

Russia’s Federal Security Service argued that it needs access to encrypted messages to protect against security threats, but Telegram said complying with such demands would violate user’s privacy.

During Sunday’s protests about 20 people were detained, according to the human rights monitor OVD-Info.

Last month, a similar protest concerning Telegram led thousands to descend upon Moscow’s streets.