Telegram: the Russian app that gave Russia a headache

Telegram has been downloaded more than 150 million times since the beginning of this year. The application contains many messages about the war in Ukraine from both sides. For many Russians, it has become an increasingly important source of news in recent weeks, with many foreign media and platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter now blocked in the country.

Why has Telegram become so popular?

Telegram distinguishes itself from competitors such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger with a number of unique features. For example, unlike rival WhatsApp, group chats can have up to 200,000 participants. Telegram also offers the possibility to follow channels, such as in YouTube or Twitter.

Telegram also offers a number of security options, such as hiding phone numbers and, in its own words, better encryption than other services. In addition, the application does not affect the freedom of expression, which reduces the possibility to delete messages. On Telegram’s FAQ page, the company states that it “will not prevent anyone from expressing alternative views peacefully”.

But the biggest reason is probably the change in WhatsApp’s terms of service last year. Since the spring of 2021, user data outside of Europe will be shared with Facebook. This was a bridge too far for some users who switched to Telegram for this reason, among other reasons.

How popular is Telegram really?

The app has been downloaded more than 1 billion times worldwide from the Google Play Store. But that doesn’t mean there are a billion users. Telegram is available on desktop and phones. According to Backlinko, the app had more than 550 million monthly active users earlier this year.

Telegram is also rapidly gaining popularity in the Netherlands. For example, about 1.6 million Dutch people are active on Telegram, and 600,000 of them use the app daily. This makes Telegram more popular in the Netherlands than the Reddit web forum or the Discord chat app.

Is encryption secure?

Telegram says that user privacy is one of the company’s most important values. Encrypting messages would be a big plus. However, keep in mind that message encryption is not automatic. To encrypt messages, you must specifically check the ‘secret chat’ option. This feature is only available for private conversations. This is not possible in group conversations.

McAfee vice president Antony Demetriades told Trusted Reviews earlier this year that it would make other apps like Signal more secure. This app provides end-to-end encryption for all chats. Several cybersecurity experts also warn users that Telegram can give a false sense of security.

Why does Telegram have such a bad reputation?

While Telegram is no longer a niche app, it has a bad reputation in some ways. The channel function and the ability to set up large group chats make it possible to bring large groups of people together in a short time.

It also makes it easy to use the app to organize riots, spread fake news, sell drugs and weapons, and more. Even the terrorist organization ISIS used the app to recruit new members.

It is especially striking that the makers of the app often do little to take illegal content offline. For example, the BBC reported last month that a whopping 96% of flagged posts were still online a month later. The other four belonged to groups to which the publisher no longer had access.

A Brazilian judge banned Telegram in the country on Friday for failing to prevent the spread of false election information and calling for violence by supporters of President Bolsonaro. That’s why carriers, Apple and Google have to block the Telegram app in Brazil, at least until they delete Telegram accounts and pay a certain number of fines.

Why is Telegram “loose” about content moderation?

While it is always easy to find content on Telegram, albeit inappropriate and sometimes even illegal, the platform struggles to get it offline. It tries to do more than that. For example, it removed a number of far-right channels last year.

Still, the app’s founders don’t like that. They believe in unrestricted freedom of speech. Durov was soon criticized by users after saying he may want to temporarily block part or all of the app in Russia and Ukraine because of channels spreading disinformation at the start of the war. Finally he changed his mind.

Even when Telegram in the EU had to shut down Russian state media RT and Sputnik following European Union sanctions, it took Telegram a while to do so. He eventually removed the canals, but only after coming under heavy pressure from authorities.

Is the app also used to negotiate?

However, the app is not only used for disinformation and extremist content. In Ukraine, Telegram is considered an important tool for gathering information during the war. For example, application channels report incoming attacks faster than other media, so that citizens can get to safety in time.

The application is also used in Russia. Since the content of the app can be easily distributed by independent channels, it has become a popular news source in wartime. Russian citizens also use the app to send encrypted private messages. Spreading “fake news” about the war has become illegal in Russia and is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

The practice has long been popular in countries with totalitarian regimes and other places where large-scale protests have taken place. For example, the app has been used for years to conduct campaigns in Hong Kong, Catalonia and Belarus. For example, journalist Roman Protasevich, who was arrested by the Belarusian government last year, had a channel with two million followers. There he published reports about “the last dictatorship in Europe”.

How does the app make money?

Since Telegram is completely free, many people wonder how the app makes money. According to Pavel Durov, co-founder of Telegram, the company will never use ads in the messaging section of the app. Telegram says it does not want to share user data with advertisers.

Advertisements can be displayed in so-called ‘one-to-many’ channels. They are channels where a person or organization can only send messages to their subscribers. Durov also wants to offer paid features for business users and advanced users. However, regular users can continue to use the app for free forever.

Meanwhile, Durov keeps the app online by scrambling with his own arm. According to Forbes, the man is worth about $15 billion. He says he spends hundreds of millions every year to keep Telegram alive. Durov also stated that he does not want to sell Telegram to a big company like Meta or Microsoft.

Who are the founders of Telegram?

While Telegram is currently based in the British Virgin Islands and Dubai, the app was originally set up in Russia. Pavel and Nikolai Durov, who are also the founders of the popular Russian social media VKontake, used the money earned to create Telegram.

The younger brother Pavel was the public spokesperson and public face of VKontake. He is also currently the CEO of Telegram. Nikolai mainly works behind the scenes. The elder Durov, a mathematician and programmer, is believed to be the mastermind behind Telegram’s coding.

What is the company’s relationship with the Kremlin?

The Durovs have a tumultuous relationship with the Russian state and are strong supporters of freedom of expression. After Ukrainians protested en masse against pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in 2013, Russia’s FSB secret service asked VKontakte for personal information from the organizers.

Instead, Pavel Durov shared the request on his VKontakte page, saying that Russia has no jurisdiction over Ukrainian citizens. “Releasing the personal data of Ukrainians to the Russian authorities is not only a violation of the law, but also a betrayal of millions of Ukrainians who trust us,” Durov said.

A short time later, Durov tendered his resignation as CEO of the company, which was acquired by the Russian company Mail.ru. Mail.ru has close ties to Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, who has been called “one of Putin’s favorites”.

In a touching Telegram post last week, Pavel Durov said the decision forced him to leave his home country of Russia. “I lost my job and my house, but I would have done it again,” said young Durov. “I no longer live in Russia and have no more jobs or employees there. But one thing remains the same: I stand by our users, no matter what. Their right to privacy is sacred.”

Will the app stay online in Russia?

While Telegram continues to show Russian users “illegal” information about the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin can be expected to ban the app. However, Russian governments also use Telegram extensively to spread misinformation.

This doesn’t mean the Kremlin hasn’t tried. In 2018, after Durov refused to share users’ private messages with the government, the Kremlin wanted to take Telegram offline. The practice was banned in April of that year, but it soon became clear that media watchdog Roskomnadzor could not enforce the ban.

Roskomnadzor tried to block the company’s servers, but Durov responded by turning on multiple Amazon and Google servers. The media watchdog then blocked many IP addresses hoping to reach Telegram, but as a result, most Russian companies suffered.

Meanwhile, users have found other ways to use Telegram, such as using a VPN. In the end, the Russian government gave up the fight after two years.

Source: RTL

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