Messaging app Telegram to block terror channels

Messaging service Telegram on Monday vowed to shut down terrorist-related channels after the Indonesian government partially blocked access to its platform, the media reported.

On July 14, Indonesia's Ministry of Communication and IT blocked Telegram's web version and threatened to stop access to its app as well, reports the BBC.

The country claimed that Telegram had been used to promote radicalism and to give instructions for carrying out attacks.

The firm's founder said he was "upset" by the move.

In a note posted to his Telegram followers, Pavel Durov said his firm had now removed all terrorist-related public channels reported by the government.

"Telegram is heavily encrypted and privacy-oriented, but we're no friends of terrorists -- in fact, every month we block thousands of IS (Islamic State)-related public channels," the BBC quoted Duroy as saying.

Globally, Telegram has played a central role in IS's communication strategy, in part because of a channel feature that lets users broadcast to an unlimited number of other users, according to cyber experts.

Although channels are routinely shut down, IS operatives set up lots of replica channels, which repeat or mirror the same content.

--IANS

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