Telegram Collected Data for Subsequent Acts of Sabotage; Russia
RUSSIA – The Russian Interior Ministry’s cybercrime division said on Friday that Telegram was collecting data for subsequent acts of sabotage on military personnel, law enforcement officers and government officials.
The ministry said that Telegram bot services allow users to obtain personal data that can be used to illegally create a “digital profile.”
The information can include anything from full names and dates of birth to addresses, phone numbers and details about relatives, according to a statement on Telegram.
“In just one month, their use contributed to the commission of more than 13,000 crimes with damages exceeding 15 billion rubles ($195.5 million),” said the ministry.
The cybercrime department said that despite measures taken, channels and bots selling illegally obtained data continue to operate on messaging apps.
The statement said appeals from Interior Ministry units to foreign platforms have gone unanswered and without action required under Russian law.
The federal communications and media regulator Roskomnadzor demanded that the app prevent the disclosure of Russian citizens’ personal data and stop providing its services with infrastructure for accessing stolen personal information.
Telegram has removed 8,358 of the services since 2022 upon requests by Roskomnadzor and keeps removing up to 100 services weekly in 2026, the RBC reported, citing the regulator.
“However, the situation remains fundamentally unchanged: new bots are appearing to search for personal data,” Roskomnadzor explained.
On Wednesday, Roskomnadzor decided to slow Telegram under federal law.
Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media Minister Maksut Shadayev told a State Duma IT Committee meeting that Telegram ignored 150,000 requests to remove restricted materials, including child pornography and content related to drug trafficking.
Andrey Klishas, head of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building, told Sputnik Radio on Friday that Telegram could be completely blocked in Russia if it fails to comply with legislative requirements.
The warning comes as authorities intensify restrictions on foreign communication tools. Officials recently restricted WhatsApp after its parent company, Meta, allegedly refused to comply with Russian legal requirements.
Following the WhatsApp restriction, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged citizens to switch to “Max,” a state-developed national messenger that has been mandatory on new devices since 2025.
Telegram remains widely used in Russia, including by the military, but has faced mounting pressure from Roskomnadzor because of data localization and anti-terrorism regulations.
Telegram founder Pavel Durov previously said the restrictions are an attempt to push users toward state-monitored platforms, echoing similar concerns raised by Meta about political censorship.
