Technology giant Apple has prevented the Telegram messaging service from updating globally ever since Russia banned the service and ordered Apple to remove it from its online store, Telegram’s chief executive and founder claimed on Thursday.
Pavel Durov said on his Twitter and Telegram accounts that while the application was available from Apple, Telegram has not been able to deliver technical updates to installed versions of the product anywhere.
He wrote that without updates, Telegram would not work properly with the latest version of the iPhone operating system and it was out of compliance with the new European data privacy law. While Russia makes up 7 percent of Telegram’s users, updates for all Telegram users were being restricted, Durov said.
Apple declined repeated requests for comment.
Apple’s control over the apps in its store enables it to inspect and approve or disapprove of every new version, including updates that fix minor technical issues. If it does not approve an updated version of the software, it cannot be distributed through the App Store.
“Russia banned Telegram on its territory in April because we refused to provide decryption keys for all our users’ communications to Russia’s security agencies. We believe we did the only possible thing, preserving the right of our users to privacy in a troubled country,” Durov, a pioneer of Russian social media, said on his official Telegram channel.
“As a result, we’ve also been unable to fully comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for our EU-users by the deadline of May 25, 2018. We are continuing our efforts to resolve the situation,” he said.
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Read more:
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After Russia’s decision to block the popular messaging service, two protest rallies were staged in Moscow against what demonstrators called internet censorship. Telegram is challenging the block in Russian courts.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has said it needed to guard against security threats.
“App updates are essential to bolster the security of users and their data, and to comply with privacy laws and regulation,” said Peter Micek, general counsel of non-profit digital rights group Access Now.
“The burden falls squarely on Apple to justify blocking global updates to Telegram, a hugely popular messaging app,” Micek said.
Apple is known globally as a protector of user rights. It famously fought the Federal Bureau of Investigation in court rather than agree to break into a phone that had been used by a slain man who killed people in San Bernardino, Calif.
Governments have stepped up pressure on technology companies to more actively police content in more forms, including apps.
In China, Apple recently banned Virtual Private Network apps and removed the New York Times from its digital marketplace.
Apple has said publicly it would notify developers when apps were removed at a government’s request, that it would limit take-downs to specific countries when possible, and that beginning in the second half of this year it would note in periodic transparency reports the number of requests for app removals.
Since updates are critical but not covered by Apple’s policy, “This is more reason for Apple to regularly, publicly report on its own content decisions and responses to government requests, as well as the policies those calls are based on,” said Access Now’s Micek.
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
if you go
The flights
Emirates offer flights to Buenos Aires from Dubai, via Rio De Janeiro from around Dh6,300. emirates.com
Seeing the games
Tangol sell experiences across South America and generally have good access to tickets for most of the big teams in Buenos Aires: Boca Juniors, River Plate, and Independiente. Prices from Dh550 and include pick up and drop off from your hotel in the city. tangol.com
Staying there
Tangol will pick up tourists from any hotel in Buenos Aires, but after the intensity of the game, the Faena makes for tranquil, upmarket accommodation. Doubles from Dh1,110. faena.com
'Midnights'
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if you go
The flights
The closest international airport to the TMB trail is Geneva (just over an hour’s drive from the French ski town of Chamonix where most people start and end the walk). Direct flights from the UAE to Geneva are available with Etihad and Emirates from about Dh2,790 including taxes.
The trek
The Tour du Mont Blanc takes about 10 to 14 days to complete if walked in its entirety, but by using the services of a tour operator such as Raw Travel, a shorter “highlights” version allows you to complete the best of the route in a week, from Dh6,750 per person. The trails are blocked by snow from about late October to early May. Most people walk in July and August, but be warned that trails are often uncomfortably busy at this time and it can be very hot. The prime months are June and September.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
