Iraq’s telecoms ministry said on Sunday that it had blocked Telegram, one of the most widely used messaging apps in the country. Its reasons: national security, and personal data it said the app had mishandled.
The ministry says it asked Telegram to shut down “platforms that leak the data of the official state institutions and the personal data of citizens,” and that the company “did not respond and did not interact with any of these requests.” In the same statement, the Ministry of Communications said it respects citizens’ right to free expression and communication, “without prejudice to the security of the state and its institutions.”
Telegram did not immediately answer an emailed request for comment.
What the channels carry
Iraqis use the app to message one another, and also as a source of news and a place to share content. Some channels hold large amounts of personal data, including the names, addresses and family ties of Iraqis. Politicians and government ministries across the region also rely on the encrypted service.
Armed groups use it too. Iran-backed militias linked to political groups in parliament are among its users, and experts say it has helped some paramilitary groups publicise attacks, including strikes on military bases hosting coalition troops fighting remnants of ISIS. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace counted nearly two dozen Telegram channels that appeared between March 2020 and 2021, more than 75 per cent of them affiliated with militias.
One of them, Sabereen news, is tied to Iran-backed groups and is a major source of information on militia activity. It has regularly reported rocket attacks on coalition bases and the US embassy, including after the US killing of Iranian general Qassem Suleimani in Baghdad three years earlier.
ISIS, too, uses Telegram to reach large audiences at once. This week it confirmed the death of its leader, Abu Hussein Al Husseini Al Quraishi, on the app. Last year a London court sentenced an ISIS follower to more than eight years in prison for sharing terrorist propaganda there.
Sources
- Iraq blocks Telegram messaging app over national security fears | The National
- Iraq blocks Telegram app, cites personal data violations | The Jerusalem Post
Sources
- Iraq blocks Telegram messaging app over national security fears
- Iraq blocks Telegram app, cites personal data violations
