Russia fines Telegram app $432,366 for failing to remove banned content, Ifax reports

FILE PHOTO: A person poses for a photo while holding a smartphone next to a screen showing the crossed logo of Telegram messaging app against the backdrop of the Russian state flag, in this illustration taken February 12, 2026. REUTERS/Ramil Sitdikov/Illustration/File Photo

MOSCOW, March ⁠16 (Reuters) - Russia has ⁠fined the Telegram ‌messaging app 35 million roubles ($432,366) for failing to remove ​banned content, Russia's ⁠Interfax news ⁠agency reported on Monday.

Authorities ⁠have ‌repeatedly accused Telegram, one ⁠of the most popular messaging ​apps ‌in Russia, of allowing ⁠itself ​to be used as a platform ⁠for illegal and extremist ​content.

Telegram rejects the charge and has accused ⁠Russia of trying to throttle its services in order to force ​people ⁠to switch to a ​state-run app ‌called MAX.

($1 = 80.9500 ​roubles)

(Reporting by ReutersEditing by Andrew Osborn)