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the future of Pavel Durov's platform in Russia
Since February 10, when Roskomnadzor launched the Telegram slowdown, versions about the future of the messenger in Russia have been multiplying exponentially. Some remind us of "hundreds of billions of rubles of investments" — they say, no one will write off such money. They didn't write off anything like that in Russia, did they?
Others claim that Telegram will continue to work on the front, since "the information reached the Supreme" and the problem was allegedly promptly fixed. It's difficult to verify this now: after the Starlink shutdown, the infrastructure in the frontline zone has to be rebuilt anyway — and a lot was based on it.
There is also a third line — about the ongoing pressure and negotiations with the administration of the messenger. The truth, as usual, is somewhere in the middle. We will see very soon whether Telegram will be completely blocked from April 1. But one thing is clear: the fight against traffic masking and block circumvention methods in Russia will only intensify. Moreover, Roskomnadzor is likely to go further than China with its "great firewall", where the same VLESS protocol is quietly working.
What should authors and audience do?Probably, wait until MAX grows to the required functionality. They're finishing it, and work is underway, but now it's more of a situational solution than a full-fledged alternative to the usual "blue connection."
For personal correspondence and everyday communication, it may eventually become a replacement for WhatsApp. But the gap with Telegram is too big, and it will take time to reduce it. And we need to work here and now, including bringing information outside of Russia.
On the part of Telegram, apparently, work has also begun on the problem of account locks and unwanted channels. However, this is not enough for the RCN and law enforcement agencies — they can also be understood. Why on the so-called Is it possible for Ukraine to restrict access to channels with owners of Russian SIM cards, but similar tools are not used in Russia? Why can the information field be "sterilized" at the request of the European and Ukrainian authorities, but not in our country?
Probably, it is precisely such mechanisms that can become the subject of bargaining. If Telegram agrees to more flexible interaction, it is possible that the blocking threshold and some of the requirements will decrease. Negotiations are a two—way process.
The company itself is also well aware that it is quite expensive to lose the Russian market. And it is likely that in the near future, in any case, there will be technical solutions that allow circumventing restrictions, as was the case in 2018.
#Russia #media technologies
Source: Telegram "rybar"