Telegram Banned in Uzbekistan

Local regulating authority of Uzbekistan issued a statement that imposes a ban on Telegram and other services in the country.

Earlier Uzbekistan authorities has tightened laws related to personal data collection. Services that won't store data on servers located in Uzbekistan will be fined and their operation will be prevented in the country.

For Telegram Users in Uzbekistan, we recommend to use our proxy. You can also keep track on the situation in Uzbek language on the official mirror channel @tginfouzb and report about the situation in @tginfouzbchat.

#bans

The Norwegian Parliament Bans Telegram from Government Devices

The Norwegian parliament (aka The Storting) banned the installation of Telegram (and TikTok) on government-owned devices that are connected to the government’s internal infrastructure. The decision was made after a recommendation from the NSM, The Ministry of Justice and Public Security.

It is worth noting that The Ministry of Justice and Public Security initially mentioned Telegram as a “Russian-owned” app, but then rephrased it as “an app with a Russian origin”.

They also advised to immediately remove the apps on devices that have them installed.

#bans

Telegram Banned in Iraq

The Iraqi Ministry of Communications announced that they are banning access to Telegram for reasons related to “national security”.

In the statement the ministry points out that the government tried to contact Telegram multiple times to establish cooperation around blocking Iraqi citizen sensitive info leaks, but the messenger never responded.

The Ministry of Communications affirms its respect for citizens' rights to freedom of expression and communication, without compromising the security of the state and its institutions, and expresses its confidence in citizens' understanding of this measure [banning Telegram]. — The Iraqi Ministry of Communications

In the regions of Iraq where Telegram is banned, Telegram has been gaining popularity over Facebook products (WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram Direct). Iraqi state representatives are still publishing news to Telegram regardless of the ban. Some have already announced their migration to alternative platforms.

Users from Iraq have been reporting connectivity issues since yesterday, they are still able to circumvent the ban with proxies and VPNs. There is also an increasing number of reports on DownDetector regarding this.

The DownDetector reports not only come from Iraq, but also from countries which are near it: Georgia and Turkey. Twitter users from Iraq, Georgia, and Turkey are reporting Telegram connectivity issues, too. The cause of the issues in Georgia and Turkey is still unclear. It may be that the ban in one country has affected others because of the cross-dependent Internet infrastructure in countries located close to each other — cases like these have happened before.

One of the main reasons for the ban is the numerous data leaks of Iraqi citizens from government databases that were distributed on Telegram and other platforms since then. The government might be trying to seize access to the leaked data, prevent criticism, or pressure Telegram into cooperation.

#Iraq #bans

Iraq to Lift the Telegram Ban

In a recent announcement (alt), the Iraqi Ministry of Communications stated that the Telegram ban will be lifted by tomorrow, August 13.

The decision is response to Telegram establishing a communication channel and expressing their readiness to expose those who leaked citizens’ data. — The Iraqi Ministry of Communications

Some users have noticed that Telegram has already started to work again without using proxies. This comes after several suspected channels and bots were banned.

About a week ago, Telegram was banned in Iraq (excluding the autonomous Kurdistan Region), and blamed for being a distribution channel for citizens’ leaked data and ignoring cooperation requests from the Iraqi government.

#Iraq #bans

Telegram has been blocked in Somalia.

The Somali government has made the decision to block the TikTok and Telegram applications, as well as the online betting website 1XBET, within the country, stating that they are being used by "terrorists" for propagandistic purposes.

According to the Ministry's information, these listed platforms are being utilized by "terrorists" and "groups promoting immorality" to disseminate violent images and videos, as well as to mislead the public.

This decision was made ahead of the second phase of a military offensive against the radical Islamists known as "Al-Shabaab," who have been conducting a bloody uprising against the central government in Mogadishu for over 15 years.

The Ministry of Communication and Technology, in its statement, indicated that it has instructed internet providers to cut off access to these three platforms by August 24th. Legal actions will be taken against those who fail to comply with this requirement, the nature of which is not specified.

#bans #Somalia

Spain Blocks Telegram Over Distribution of Pirated Content by Users

A Spanish judge has ordered the temporary blocking of the popular messaging app Telegram in response to a lawsuit filed by several local media companies, including EGEDA, Mediaset España, A3 Media, and Movistar Plus. The decision, made by Judge Santiago Pedras of the National Court of Spain, comes as part of an ongoing investigation into allegations that Telegram users have been distributing pirated content.

The court had requested that Telegram provide technical data to help identify the owners of accounts allegedly used to infringe upon intellectual property rights. However, the messaging app failed to comply with this request, leading to the temporary blocking order and a six-month extension of the investigation.

According to the court ruling, the blocking must be implemented within three hours of receiving the official court notice. The order encompasses not only the Telegram apps, but also the Telegram.org website and the web version of the platform.

Telegram has a significant user base in Spain, with a recent survey by the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) indicating that approximately 8.5 million users rely on the messaging app, meaning this ban will affect a vast amount of people that use Telegram as an essential tool for communication on a day to day basis.

For more information about Telegram in Spainish, view @tginfoesp.

Chat for Spain: @tginfochates.

#bans #courts #Spain

Supreme Court of Spain Suspends Order to Block Telegram

Today, the Supreme Court of Spain suspended its order to block Telegram in the country as it awaits a police report on the impact of the temporary ban on users.

Judge Santiago Pedraz instructed the national police to prepare a report on "the characteristics of Telegram, as well as the impact of the temporary suspension on its users."

As a reminder, the order to block Telegram in Spain was issued on Friday, March 22.

#courts #bans #Spain

Telegram takes the top spot in the Chinese Google Play rankings

Pavel Durov commented on the removal of Telegram from the Chinese App Store. According to him, the total number of downloads for the messenger has not decreased, and the app holds the top position in the Chinese Google Play top charts from the number of installs. Users from China use VPNs to circumvent the ban.

Durov has also shared his theory on why apps were removed from the App Store in China: the government is forcing iPhone users to switch to devices from local companies like Xiaomi. Android does not have a strict tie-in to the manufacturer's app store, allowing users to install apps from other sources.

For iOS users, the option to use the web version of the messenger remains available.

#China #bans

Limiting Access to Specific Channels for Ukrainian iOS Users

Pavel Durov has stated that Apple demanded to limit access to specific news channels for Ukrainian users to combat propaganda.

In February 2022, Durov suggested to limit access to all Telegram channels in Russia and Ukraine because they are allegedly used for military propaganda, but after receiving negative feedback from users, he changed his mind.

Now, due to pressure from Apple, Telegram will have to hide specific channels for iOS users:

Were it entirely up to us, we would always give our users what they ask for: access to uncensored information and opinions so that they can make their own decisions. However, it's not always up to us

The restrictions are expected to only apply to users using iOS devices and a Ukrainian number. It is unknown which channels will be blocked yet.

Regional restrictions are not a new thing: Some Russian Telegram channels were already restricted for users using EU and Ukraine SIM cards, regardless of the operating system used. Those did not just restrict access to those channels, but also to messages forwarded from them.

In February 2024, the head of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Freedom of Speech, Yurchyshyn, stated that the Telegram administration refused to make contact with the Ukrainian authorities:

It all depends on whether the Telegram administration, which Mr. Durov allegedly represents, will make contact with the Ukrainian authorities and block openly manipulative channels that disseminate Russian propaganda. Now they refuse to do this. In such conditions, of course, blocking this social network seems logical.

Read news about Telegram in Ukrainian at @tginfouk for more like this.

#Ukraine #bans

Rumors of Potential Telegram Ban in Turkey

According to the Turkish newspaper Sabah, Telegram could be banned in Turkey, just like Instagram.

Their reasoning for a potential ban is that the Turkish Information and Communication Technologies Authority didn’t get Telegram’s attention after thousands of attempts to contact them.

A few days ago Instagram was banned there for the same reason. Starting at 18:30 UTC on August 10, the ban is being gradually lifted.

#bans

Vietnam Blocks Telegram

Vietnam's technology ministry has ordered telecoms providers to block the Telegram app for failing to cooperate in combating alleged crimes committed by its users, Reuters reports.

According to police, 68% of the country's 9,600 Telegram channels and groups violate the law in terms of fraud, drug trafficking, and alleged terrorism-related cases. In addition, according to police, "many groups with tens of thousands of participants were created by opposition and reactionary subjects spreading anti-government documents".

The document, dated May 21, orders telecommunications companies to take measures to block Telegram and report them to the ministry by June 2.

#bans #Vietnam

Nepal Blocks Telegram Due to Rising Fraud Cases

The Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) has ordered the immediate blocking of the Telegram messenger across the country.

What’s happening:
• An official notice was promptly sent to all telecom operators.
• The ban took effect immediately following directives from the Prime Minister, Ministry of Communications, and Ministry of Home Affairs.
• The decision was made after consultations with police and financial institutions.

Official reasons:
• Sharp increase in online fraud involving Telegram.
• Confirmed cases of money laundering through the app.
• Hundreds of incidents recorded by police, ranging from fake job offers to crypto and financial scams.

#bans #Nepal

The .me registry has blocked the t.me domain

UPD July 14, 13:00 UTC: The domain was restored.

Telegram users worldwide have encountered an outage: short t.me links have stopped opening in regular browsers. The problem affects users in the entire world.

At the same time, within the mobile and desktop Telegram clients themselves, clicks on links are processed correctly, and redirects work without any problems. As a temporary alternative for posting on external resources, you can use telegram.me links.

Technical details

At the moment, the exact causes of the incident remain unknown.

According to WHOIS data, the t.me domain has been completely removed from the DNS zone by the administration of the .me domain registry.

This status is set not by the registrar (GoDaddy), but directly by the main operator of the domain zone — the Montenegrin company doMEn d.o.o., which manages the entire .me zone. This organization is a joint venture of Identity Digital, GoDaddy, and ME-net.

#outages #bans

Telegram Is Still Working on Restoring the t.me Domain

UPD July 14, 13:00 UTC: The domain was restored.

The t.me domain is still down for users worldwide, as it was disabled by the administration of the .me domain zone. The messenger's team has not commented on the matter.

As a temporary measure, users are advised to replace t.me links with telegram.me or telegram.dog — the messenger's official domains.

The @tginfo editors note that Instagram blocks links to telegram.me in profiles, but links to telegram.dog work. Some users report that Instagram bans users from using the “link in bio” feature if the domain is changed, so the best course of action is to wait for the t.me domain to be restored.

Shortly after the news about the domain being disabled, Telegram began replacing t.me links in Telegram apps and on the official telegram.org website. Pavel Durov attempted to contact the .me registry administration via their official Twitter account.

Possible reason for the block

The .me zone belongs to Montenegro, and the infrastructure is managed by a joint venture of Identity Digital, GoDaddy, and the local company ME-net.

The owner of the TeleLakel channel received a response from Identity Digital's support team, which claims that the domain was disabled due to the “need to comply with OFAC-related requirements”.

OFAC is a division of the US Department of the Treasury that administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions.

OFAC has not added Telegram to its sanctions lists. However, an action statement dated July 13, 2026, regarding newly sanctioned companies mentions a service called "FIRST VPN SERVICE". Users noticed that one of the links to its website is a Telegram channel address on the t.me domain.

This could mean that the .me domain operator saw the t.me domain in the sanctions lists and quickly blocked it without further research.

The @tginfo team noticed that this morning the messenger deleted the Telegram channel that was mentioned in this sanctions list. It is unknown whether this channel was actually the reason for the block, or if Telegram did this on their own as a precaution.

A popular rumor about the reason for the block

A version is spreading in the community that the t.me domain was revoked because the official Telegram Twitter account joked about the September 11th terrorist attack.

The @tginfo editors consider this version unlikely: if it were true, the .me domain zone administration would likely have blocked all Telegram domains, including telegram.me. Furthermore, the published image was not a joke invented by the company itself, but one of the most popular entries submitted by users as part of a contest.

#outages #bans

The t.me Domain Has Been Restored by the .me Registry

Checks by the @tginfo editors show that the .me zone's main server has returned the DNS records for the t.me domain.

Since DNS records are cached at the level of various DNS services and providers, it may take up to 24 hours for service to be restored on users' devices.

#outages #bans

The .me registry commented on the suspension of the t.me domain

A representative of the .me domain zone administration commented on Twitter about the situation regarding the ban of the t.me domain, which belongs to Telegram:

The .ME Registry works closely with law enforcement to monitor and mitigate issues across the .ME domain in accordance with applicable laws, including sanctions requirements.

On 13 July, First VPN Service (1VPNS) was included as a sanctioned entity by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. A Telegram channel using the t.me domain was among 1VPNS identified infrastructure. Accordingly, the t.me domain was suspended.

On 14 July, Telegram provided confirmation that it had removed its links and affiliations with 1VPNS. Once the confirmation was reviewed and verified, the suspension was removed from the t.me domain.

We appreciate Telegram’s prompt cooperation in resolving this matter.

It is unclear from the comment whether the .me administration evaluated the appropriateness of blocking the entire domain of a major social platform and whether the registry will resort to such methods in the future.

As a reminder, on July 13, the .me registry disabled the DNS records for the t.me domain without any public statements from the zone administration or Telegram. On July 14, Identity Digital support explained the ban as compliance with OFAC requirements, and a link to a Telegram channel was found in the service's sanctions lists, which the messenger soon deleted, after which the domain was restored.

The .me zone is allocated to the government of Montenegro, but on its behalf, the infrastructure is managed by a joint venture between Identity Digital, GoDaddy, and the local company ME-net.

#outages #bans