Email not displaying correctly?

View it in your browser

[link removed]

.



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Russia: Removal of Ban on Messaging App Does Not End Censorship

Washington - June 19, 2020 — In response to the Russian authorities’ removal of an official ban on Telegram, a popular messaging application, Freedom House issued the following statement:

“The decision by Russian regulators to authorize public access to Telegram is a step in the right direction, though the restrictions that remain are concerning,” said Marc Behrendt, director of Europe and Eurasia programs at Freedom House. “The lifting of the ban is conditional upon Telegram’s cooperation with the authorities, including its willingness to provide personal information on citizens. More broadly, a number of websites remain blacklisted for political reasons in Russia, infringing on fundamental freedoms of speech, expression, and association. Freedom House calls on the Russian government to roll back internet censorship, without caveats, and grant citizens access to illegitimately banned websites.”

Background:

On June 18, the Russian communications regulatory body, Roskomnadzor, officially lifted

[link removed]

a ban imposed on Telegram two years earlier after its founders failed to turn over encryption keys to the agency. The decision is contingent on Telegram’s cooperation with Russian authorities in cases of alleged extremism and terrorism. The ban had been largely ineffective in practical terms, and Telegram remained widely popular, utilized

[link removed]

even by the government and state-run media.

Russia is rated Not Free in Freedom of the World 2020

[link removed]

, and Not Free in Freedom on the Net 2019

[link removed]

.

Freedom House is an independent watchdog organization that supports democratic change, monitors the status of freedom around the world, and advocates for democracy and human rights.

Stay up to date with Freedom House’s latest news

[link removed]

and events

[link removed]

by signing up for our newsletter

[link removed]

.

Follow on Twitter

[link removed]

Friend on Facebook

[link removed]

Forward to Friend

[link removed]



Copyright © 2020, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:


Freedom House
1850 M Street NW
11th Floor
Washington, DC 20036


unsubscribe from all emails

[link removed]

update subscription preferences

[link removed]