Ukraine bans Telegram on official devices over fears of spying by Russia
File photo of the Telegram logo.
The Ukrainian government has banned the use of Telegram onofficial devices used by government officials, military personnel and critical workers because it believes its enemy Russia can spy on both messages and users, Ukraine'sNational Security and Defence Council said on Friday (Sept 20).
In a statement, theNational Security and Defence Council said that it announced therestrictions after Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine's GUR military intelligence agency, presented the council with evidence of Russian special services' ability to snoop on Telegram.
According to the Telemetrio database, about 33,000 Telegram channels are active in Ukraine.
'Restrictions apply only to official devices'
Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Security Council's Centre on Countering Disinformation, posted on Telegram that the restrictions applied to only official devices and not personal phones.
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Telegram is heavily used in both Ukraine and Russia and has become a critical source of information since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
But Ukrainian security officials have repeatedly voiced concerns about its use during the war.
Ukraine's ban comes weeks after Telegram founderPavel Durov was arrested in Franceas part of an investigation into crimes related to child pornography, drug trafficking and fraudulent transactions on Telegram.
'Issue of Telegram a matter of national security'
The Security Council statement said Budanov had provided evidence that Russian special services could access Telegram messages, including deleted ones, as well as users' personal data.
"I have always supported and continue to support freedom of speech, but the issue of Telegram is not a matter of freedom of speech, it is a matter of national security," Budanov said in his own statement.
Telegram reacts to ban
Reacting to the ban, Telegram saidit had never disclosed anyone's data or the contents of any message.
"Telegram has never provided any messaging data to any country, including Russia. Deleted messages are deleted forever and are technically impossible to recover," the messaging platform said.
Telegram pointed out that every instance of what it described as "leaked messages" had been proven to be "the result of a compromised device, whether through confiscation or malware".