The United States has supported Telegram with new sanctions.
The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions against the Iranian IT holding company, Pasargad Arian Information and Communication Technology Company (FANAP), according to the Ministry of Finance. According to the Iranian government, FANAP has instructed companies to develop Soroush, a national Internet messenger service designed to allow the government to block Telegram in Iran due to its use by protesters. FANAP also owns Behnama facial recognition software that is used by Iran’s law enforcement forces and Morality Police.
In 2018, Telegram was blocked by a court ruling in Iran to protect national security. Nevertheless, Telegram has more than 50 million users and news channels with more than a million subscribers in Iran.
Telegram was created in 2013 by Pavel Durov from Russia, who left his country in 2014. The headquarters of Telegram are currently located in the UAE. It is popular in several countries, particularly in Russia. According to Mediascope analytics, on average, 74% of Russians aged 12 and over use the messenger service.
Because of the popularity of foreign messaging services in the country, Russian authorities are actively promoting another messaging service, Max, operated by a company authorized by the Russian government.
