Apple has finally approved an updated version of Telegram's iOS app after the company's CEO complained yesterday that Apple was blocking updates worldwide due to the app's ban in Russia. Pavel Durov, Telegram's CEO, announced the news on Twitter.
The Russian government first ordered a ban on Telegram in mid-April, citing the company's refusal to hand over encryption keys that would have allowed the FSB (Federal Security Service) to access sensitive user data. The ban on the app caused a major backlash as it led to millions of IP addresses being blocked from Google and Amazon cloud services. The Russian government also petitioned Apple to remove the app from its app store.
Apple apparently did not remove the app from the app store. So the authorities sent a notice informing the company that it had 1 month to remove the app, otherwise it would face legal penalties for violating a local law.
But even though Telegram wasn't removed, Apple appears to have been preventing the app from being updated since March, not just in Russia, but around the world. This was a big problem as the unupdated app was not properly compliant as defined by GDPR, and was prone to large fines.
After Durov tweeted about the issue, Apple let its users update the app for the first time in months. In a second statement, Durov thanked Apple and its CEO, Tim Cook.
We don't know what will become of the Russian version of the app, suffice it to say that the company continues to struggle with the Russian authorities.
