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NEW DELHI : Messaging app Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has alleged that Reliance Group, in which Meta has a partial stake, may have lobbied, along with its competitor WhatsApp, to impose a ban on the company’s app in India.
He also accused Reliance of sabotaging access to Telegram for millions of users outside India (including the UAE).
A senior telecom industry source, who did not wish to be named, termed the allegations as “fake news” as Durov has confused Reliance Communications with Reliance Industries Ltd.
Meta has a small stake in the digital arm of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) — Jio, while subsea cables are operated by another group, Reliance Communications, which is not part of RIL.
Durov said network operators are advised to reject unauthorised BGP announcements from Reliance (AS18101) to prevent route hijacks and ensure stable Internet access for their users.
“Such abuse of global Internet routing is alarming. I wouldn’t be surprised if Reliance/WhatsApp were also behind the recent lobbying effort to ban Telegram in India,” he said. (AGENCIES)
