Apple and Google have blocked Alexei Navalny's application in Russia. As a result, the main pre-election tool from Navalny's team for Russians was the "Umnogo Holosovaniya" bot in Telegram.
"We are glad that millions of Russians had the opportunity to use this bot as part of the election campaign of the candidates, and we are proud that Telegram remains the most free platform on the network," said the owner of the messenger Pavel Durov.
At the same time, the blocking of applications by Apple and Google creates a dangerous precedent that will affect freedom of speech in Russia and around the world. Telegram, like all other mobile applications, depends on the Apple and Google ecosystems for further operation. In particular, without the support of these companies, Telegram could not remain available to the majority of Russian users in the conditions of the 2018-2020 blockades.
"This year, Apple and Google have already turned to us with a request to remove publicly available information in accordance with the laws of individual countries under the threat of excluding Telegram from the catalogs of Google Play and App Store applications. Now, judging by their blocking of the "Smart Voting" application, this practice has spread to Russia as well. A change in the policy of Apple and Google will inevitably affect Telegram as well, since they, being the creators of the two main mobile operating systems, are at the top of the information dissemination "food chain" and can dictate the rules of the game to developers like us. It's sad, but we expect it: I've written more than once that the oligopoly of Apple and Google represents a threat to freedom of speech," added Durov.
