Moscow Court Blocks Telegram Chat App After $1.7 Billion ICO

• Messaging app didn’t provide encryption keys to authorities • Almost 10 million Russians may soon lose access to Telegram

A Moscow court ordered telecommunications companies to block the Telegram chat app in Russia after it refused to grant intelligence authorities access to its users’ encrypted messages, in a blow to the company just weeks after it raised $1.7 billion from investors.

Telegram, run by its Russian founder Pavel Durov, failed to comply with local legislation, according to the ruling by Tagansky court judge Yuliya Smolina that granted a request by Russian communications regulator Roskomnadzor to restrict user access with immediate effect. The ...