Iraq’s telecom ministry lifted the ban on Telegram over the weekend, days after the company blocked the chat app over safety issues.
The ministry mentioned it lifted the ban due to the “response of the company that owns the application to the requirements of the security authorities,” which required Telegram to disclose sources leaking information of officers and residents, in keeping with a translated assertion.
Telegram has proven dedication to speaking with authorities about safety issues, the ministry mentioned, insisting that it “doesn’t stand against freedom of expression.”
Telegram advised Reuters that the corporate forbids customers from posting non-public information on the platform with out consent. Telegram didn’t share any non-public person information with Iraqi authorities, the messaging app operator advised the publication.
“We can confirm that our moderators took down several channels sharing personal data. However, we can also confirm that no private user data was requested from Telegram and that none has been shared,” the corporate advised the publication in an announcement.
Last week, Iraq banned the chat app saying that many channels had been publishing citizen’s non-public information akin to names, addresses, and household ties with different folks. At that point, the ministry mentioned that Telegram — which has greater than 800 million customers globally — didn’t reply to its requests, and in consequence, the nation banned the app.
Iraq has been criticized by organizations world wide for its web censorship. In the previous few months, the nation has repeatedly shut down web entry on a number of days to stop dishonest in exams. In July, Amnesty International cautioned how the nation’s draft legal guidelines may give the federal government the ability to punish anybody who criticizes the authorities.