⚡️ Telegram disruption beyond India

Pavel Durov says India's Reliance is sabotaging access to Telegram for millions of users outside the country, including in the UAE, through a rogue method known as BGP hijacking.

📌 According to Durov, the disruption looks deliberate, as Reliance has ignored multiple reports about the issue.

📌 He suggests the sabotage may be part of a wider competitive fight, pointing out that Reliance is partially owned by Meta, the company behind WhatsApp.

📌 Network operators have been advised to reject unauthorized BGP announcements from Reliance (AS18101) to prevent route hijacks and keep their users' connections stable.

📌 Durov also hinted that Reliance and WhatsApp may have been behind the recent lobbying campaign to ban Telegram in India.

The latest statement follows India's earlier decision to temporarily block Telegram over leaked medical exam questions. Durov previously criticized that move, arguing it punished 150 million ordinary users while doing nothing to stop the actual leakers, with the content simply migrating to other apps. Telegram has since removed hundreds of channels in India distributing leaked exam materials and related scams, and the platform has also made the "edited" label more visible to prevent backdating fraud.

@durovs_code