Draft law on Telegram regulation to be finalized by late September - MP Kniazhytskyi

"Once again, the relevant committee discussed the regulation of the Telegram platform and my draft law No. 11115 on the regulation of information sharing platforms through which mass information is disseminated," said Mykola Kniazhytskyi, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Cultural Policy of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy.

The day before, in a video on his YouTube channel, Mykola Kniazhytskyi explained that Telegram's servers are located in Russia and that it was made with Russian money. 

According to the Ukrainian Youth Today study by the Center for Analysis and Sociological Research (CISR) of the International Republican Institute (IRI), almost 70% of young Ukrainians consume news on Telegram. In Ukraine as a whole, this percentage reaches 80%.

"Everyone understands the obvious threats posed by the Telegram platform and the need to find a quick solution to ensure national security. I hope that colleagues from other factions and groups will show unity and not create obstacles while working on such an important draft law in the working group," said Mykola Kniazhytskyi. He explains that only at first glance, the platform appears to be open and does not seem to restrict anyone. At the same time, it was Russian oligarchs who invested in the development of Telegram, and the platform's servers are probably located in Russia.

"Russian special services have access to our information, to information about our army. After all, Telegram is Russia's main military messenger, which is subsidized by their money. Durov is also a Russian oligarch. It is impossible to become a rich person in this country without the government's permission. There have been no such examples. Given these facts, we have to be more responsible for our own security and adopt the necessary laws at the state level in a timely manner.  The draft law on the regulation of online platforms is not about Telegram, but about national security," emphasized Mykola Kniazhytskyi.

• On March 25 this year, the Verkhovna Rada registered draft law No. 11115 on the regulation of Telegram in Ukraine. The bill does not provide for blocking the messenger.
• The head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech, MP Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, hopes that the Ukrainian special services are already negotiating with the French authorities to at least partially gain access to the results of the investigation into Durov.
• Programmer and entrepreneur Pavel Durov was detained at the Paris airport on the evening of August 24 after returning from Baku. This became possible because he has been a French citizen since 2021. The French prosecutor's office announced the reasons for Durov's detention: he faces 12 charges.