The slowdown of the Telegram situation in Russia has become another reminder that the era of completely free Internet worldwide is quickly becoming a thing of the past, said the Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights, the head of ANO “White Internet”, MGIMO professor Elina Sidorenko.
In the past, users have noticed problems with Telegram: messages are delayed, media files are loaded slowly, calls are limited. Roskomnadzor officially confirmed the introduction of consistent measures aimed at Telegram's compliance with Russian law, mainly anti-fraud and user protection.
“Today, almost every state is forced to find a balance between the convenience of online services and protecting citizens from the risks posed by unsafe digital environments,” Sidorenko said.
She noted that in recent years, dozens of countries have come to a consensus: a digital environment without rules is destructive. We are talking not only about children who are banned from creating accounts, but also about adults whose data and communications have become commodities and weapons. The main trend for 2024-2026 is that countries no longer trust the ability of technology giants to self-regulate and are introducing strict administrative and technical restrictions.
The professor uses Australia as the most illustrative example. Since December 10, 2025, there has been a law that requires social networks to deactivate the accounts of minors under 16 years old and is threatened with a fine of $33 million.
“Access has been revoked for almost 5 million young users. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the measure cutting-edge, but parents have to face the reality that their children are simply having their access blocked without offering anything in return,” she said.
According to Sidorenko, Denmark and Finland are preparing similar bans for minors under 15 years old. The second wave of restrictions hits adults. Since 2015, 53 countries have introduced restrictions on the operation of instant messaging apps, accounting for a quarter of the UN's total. As a result, WhatsApp (owned by the company Meta, recognized as an extremist organization and banned in the Russian Federation) is completely blocked or the calling function in 48 countries, Telegram – in 27 countries, other instant messaging applications – in about 20 countries. In the UAE and Qatar, since 2018, operators do not have the right to forward calls to WhatsApp and Telegram via VoIP traffic.
“The main difference in Russia is that Internet management policy is based on a different logic: any restrictive measures are accompanied by the creation of their own technological solutions,” Elina Sidorenko emphasized.
As an example, she cites the Max platform, which emerged as a response to security requests, while maintaining compatibility and a familiar interface.
According to Sidorenko, digital sovereignty today is as important a part of national security as energy or food security. Dependence on foreign platforms means dependence on foreign rules, algorithms, and political decisions.
“The use of instant messengers with servers located in the jurisdictions of unfriendly countries is associated with the risk of correspondence leaks, sudden blocking of accounts, theft of personal data and the inability to effectively protect against attacks by scammers,” the professor warns.
