The country’s state communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, has filed a lawsuit to block the app in the country because Telegram has refused to hand over the encryption keys that would allow Russian authorities to read messages sent using the service, reports Reuters. Telegram, which is based in Dubai, is wildly popular in Russia and across the world. It currently has 200 million active users who trust the app for its strong encryption, which means no one–not Telegram or governments–can read the messages they send. Russia is claiming it needs Telegram’s encryption keys to help prevent future terror attacks in the country. Russian authorities launched the legal proceedings to block the app after Telegram was given until April 4 to hand over its encryption keys–a deadline that passed without that happening.
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