Saudi Arabia blocks Telegram

Telegram users in Saudi Arabia have been experiencing problems with the chat service for several days. Founder Pavel Durov confirms that Telegram traffic is ‘partially’ blocked. Perhaps the country is doing so because the service is said to be widely used by ISIS supporters.

Initially, users thought Telegram was experiencing technical difficulties, but a Tweet from Durov turns out that not to be the case. He states that the service in Saudi Arabia has been obstructed since this weekend. It is believed that the government of that country has placed a blockade, because many ISIS supporters use the chat service. The government of Saudi Arabia itself has not released anything about a possible blockade.

The service has also been criticized by the government in Iran. According to the country, the service must remove all “immoral” content, TechCrunch writes. Telegram would attempt to remove channels from extremist organizations. However, that would not be very successful, because new channels can easily be created. The Iranian committee on censorship of the internet is said to have decided last week that Telegram should not be blocked in the country.