“Before saying anything, we should wait for the situation to become clearer,” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
However, officials and law enforcement agencies were instructed to clear all their communication from Telegram, the pro-Kremlin channel Baza reported.
“Everyone who is used to using the platform for sensitive conversations/conversations should delete those conversations right now and not do it again,” Kremlin propagandist and foreign ministry spokesperson Margarita Simonyan said in a Telegram post. “Durov has been shut down to get the keys. And he’s going to give them.”
Telegram’s dark side
Telegram’s lack of moderation has made it a haven for illicit gun and drug trafficking in the West, and a tool of communication, recruitment of saboteurs and propaganda in the East, Nazar Tokar, head of Kremlingram, an investigative group of activists studying Telegram’s security and its potential ties to the Kremlin, told POLITICO.
“Russians do everything via Telegram. They are recruiting agents and people for counter-activities. Today in Ukraine, a popular campaign is to recruit people who would burn Ukrainian military cars. And it is quite successful. They coordinate their military efforts using it,” Tokar said.
Telegram denied accusations that it was allowing dangerous content, saying it abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act. It insisted its moderation meets industry standards and is constantly improving.