"Hello, is that enough?": Russians comment on the Telegram block.
Roskomnadzor confirmed that it would slow down the Telegram messenger due to the messenger's failure to comply with Russian law. However, citizens were not pleased with this explanation. Hundreds of comments followed the latest post in the Roskomnadzor community on VKontakte. comments, some of them, users write, are being deleted.
"I'm tired of infringing on citizens' rights. I bought a phone and I can communicate wherever I want. I don't believe in your protective and beloved MAX," "RosKolkhozNavoz!", "Thank you for sabotaging the work process!", "Welcome to the DPRK," "Let's remember small businesses," "Leave us alone, let us live in peace," "Hello, is that enough? Please slow down! This is the limit."
People don't believe that blocking messengers is a security concern because it harms ordinary people. Others point out that banning specific messengers could violate the Russian Constitution and the right to freedom of information.
Bloggers and activists spoke out about the blocking.
In Yakutsk, activist Vitaly Obedin suggested, that this could be a trial block (he wrote the post before Roskomnadzor confirmed the restrictions): "The situation could very well be just a 'trial balloon,' where a process is launched in the information space, the reaction to it is monitored, and depending on the reaction—aggressive, sluggish, or accepting—further steps are taken. And if anything happens, everything can be reversed."
In Primorsky Krai, former deputy and journalist Gennady Shulga saidThat this isn't the first slowdown; the messenger has been working exclusively with a VPN for about two months now: "It's crazy, it's annoying to constantly press the on/off button, jumping from app to app. Honestly, when you get off at the Thai airport, you immediately feel the difference between freedom and censorship; it's even easier to breathe and work faster. Young people, I'm sure, will draw their own conclusions. Some will leave, while others will harbor a grudge. All these blockings of yours are playing with fire."
Blocking condemnedAnd activists from the Maoist Union in the Urals: "We fully condemn the anti-people and criminal censorship policy of Russian imperialism, aimed at isolating the RuNet and attempts to force Russians onto social networks created by repressive agencies, controlled by repressive agencies, and existing so that Russians are more frequently subjected to attacks by repressive agencies."
