The Ban On The Use Of Telegram In Iraq Will Be Revoked After Companies Are Willing To Overcome Data Leaks

JAKARTA - Iraq's telecommunications ministry announced that the ban on the use of the Telegram messaging app would be lifted on Sunday, August 13, which was previously imposed this week, citing concerns over security and data leakage from state and citizen institutions.

This application is widely used in Iraq to communicate via message, but also as a source of news and to share content. Some of the channels in this application contain personal data including names, addresses, and family relationships from Iraqis.

The ministry said in a statement that the decision to lift the ban was taken after "the company that owns the platform responded to a request from the security authorities asking the company to disclose entities that leaked citizen data."

The company also "shows its readiness to communicate with relevant authorities..." the statement added.

In response to a request for comment from Reuters, a member of the Telegram press team said that "uploading personal data without consent violates the terms of Telegram services and such content is routinely removed by our moderators."

"We can confirm that our moderators have closed several channels that share personal data. However, we can also confirm that no personal user data has been requested by Telegram and nothing has been shared," said Telegram.

Last week, the ministry said that the company did not respond to its request to close the leaked platform of state institutions and citizens' personal data.