Telegram And Other Technology Companies Are Fined In Russia, But Reasons Remain Mysterious

Telegram is free from Russian government fines. (photo: dock. pexels)

JAKARTA - Telegram Messenger expressed its confusion after fines against it and other major tech companies were lifted in Russia. Google, YouTube, Meta, TikTok, and Telegram are no longer listed as debtors in the state billing database, according to online records this week.

"The program has no assets, offices, employees, or equipment in Russia," a Telegram spokesperson told Reuters on Friday. "Without any presence there, we have no visibility of the reasons why the fines against Telegram and other companies were lifted."

Telegram noted that several Russian news media reported that the fine might have been canceled because collectors were unable to find assets that could be confiscated by force.

Russia has clashed with foreign technology companies over content deemed illegal and a failure to store user data locally, a dispute that escalated after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Telegram is widely used in Russia, both to send messages and as news sources. Telegram founder and CEO, Pavel Durov, left Russia in 2014 after losing control over his previous company and now owns dual citizenship of the United Arab Emirates and France.