Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 18
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iran's Committee for Determining Criminal Web Content has rejected blocking the mobile messaging app Telegram.
During its meeting on Nov. 18, the Committee members did not agree on blocking the app, which is very popular in Iran, Mehr news agency reported.
However, the Committee set a deadline for Telegram to adopt the Islamic Republic "regulations."
No other details have been issued about the exact date of the deadline.
The Iranian Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Ministry was commissioned to take necessary measures in order to convince Telegram on the issue within a "short period of time."
If Telegram continues to violate the regulations of the Islamic Republic, it will be blocked, according to the report.
Earlier, an official from ICT Ministry told Trend that the mobile messaging app Telegram must prevent sharing of "immoral" content in order to continue operating in Iran.
"If any social media network, including Telegram, aims to continue activities in Iran, it must observe our regulations, as well as red lines, and shut down immoral pages," the Head of the Public Relations Office at Iran's ICT Ministry Mohammad Reza Farnaghizadeh said in an interview with Trend on Nov. 5.
Telegram, a messaging and content sharing app, has become popular in recent months among Iranians, who use it to communicate with each other and also share materials like pornography and political satire.
Many of Iran's state-run news agencies have also embraced the platform, using it to advertise their stories.
Currently, at least 13 million Iranians use Telegram, according to the Islamic Republic's Communications and Information Technology Ministry.
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