📰 Two news items about blockages.

1️⃣ Not first wave of casino blocking, but the biggest. ⛔️ @CasinoBot and other casino bots are being blocked, most likely due to their IPO plans, where regulatory issues cannot be tolerated.
Not only one bot was blocked, but also other projects with a million-strong audience, as well as those who bought fragment usernames from them. Previously, Telegram blocked organic traffic, namely specific keywords in search.

2️⃣ The first bot was frozen. Talking about @OBDSPQRHWND_BOT. ❄️ It is logical to understand that bots are also a one-on-one chat. And to appeal the blocking, it seems, the owner needs to contact @BotSupport.
Under this circumstance, the getMyName method returns a 400 "FROZEN_METHOD_INVALID" error, while the getMe method returns results as usual. I assume, based on the source, that this bot is designed to provide app themes.

Sources: 💌💌💌 + 💌💌💌

📰 Telegram launches its first-ever contest for content creators. On @designers channel.
🎨 Quite an interesting competition, because it is aimed at creating a 3-minute short video on the topic of Telegram's superiority over Whatsapp in terms of innovation. This topic explains that WhatsApp began to copy functions from a competitor who was implementing them on its own.
You can also use AI-based tools. And the video must be viral and clearly understandable with full English.

📄 The above files are materials that can be inspired by them.

Anyone can participate, the term is one and a half weeks. Prize = $ 50,000. Results for the next month.

📰 Eyewitnesses write that they are deleting dislikes in the original post. 😁

Fake is likely.

📼 We’ve just launched our first-ever contest for content creators. The goal is simple: create a viral video showing how Telegram has always been years ahead of its cheap copycat — WhatsApp.

We’ve caught WhatsApp running smear PR campaigns against Telegram, so it’s only fair we hit back. No more playing nice — gloves off now 🥊

It’s time to wake WhatsApp users up. They’re trapped in the past, using late, watered-down versions of innovations Telegram pioneered long before.

To help you get started, we’ve included 30 major features that Telegram introduced first — all later cloned by our green rival. Obviously, this list isn’t exhaustive. It doesn’t even cover the many features Telegram users enjoy that still don’t exist on WhatsApp — those would take dozens of slides.

That’s why we’re not worried about WhatsApp trying to catch up with us — we’re too far ahead. Anyway, the $50,000 contest ends May 26 — check it out here.

©️ @durov.

📰 New #Telemojis:

🍁, 🪴

Source : 💌💌💌

Channel name was changed to «Pavel Durov»

Emoji status was changed to ✊

©️ @durov

UPD: channel verification disappeared.

A Western European government (guess which 🥖) approached Telegram, asking us to silence conservative voices in Romania ahead of today’s presidential elections. I flatly refused. Telegram will not restrict the freedoms of Romanian users or block their political channels.

You can’t “defend democracy” by destroying democracy. You can’t “fight election interference” by interfering with elections. You either have freedom of speech and fair elections — or you don’t. And the Romanian people deserve both. 🇷🇴

©️ @durov

📰 France responded with a rejection of Durov's post about his statement about the government's interference in the elections in Romania.

You can read this tweet:
https://x.com/francediplo/status/1924129503800127999

📰 New #gifts #upgrades available:

🎁 200⭐️
🎁 500 ⭐️

New #gifts #upgrades available:

🎁10000⭐️
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Vietnam to Block Telegram Over Illegal Activity Concerns

#Vietnam to block #Telegram by June 2, 2025, citing its role in #illegal activities. Authorities claim 68% of Telegram channels in Vietnam involve fraud, drug trafficking, and anti-government content. The app’s encryption and lack of cooperation with local laws fuel scams, prompting the ban.

Vietnam is blocking the Telegram messaging app due to its alleged failure to cooperate with authorities in combating illegal activities.

The Ministry of Science and Technology’s Authority of Telecommunications has instructed telecom providers to implement technical measures to block Telegram by June 2, 2025, following a report from the Department of Cybersecurity and High-Tech Crime Prevention (A05). According to the government, 68% of the 9,600 Telegram channels and groups in Vietnam are involved in harmful activities, including fraud, drug trafficking, terrorism, and anti-government content.

Telegram’s lack of a legal entity in Vietnam and its refusal to share user data for criminal investigations violate local laws, such as Decree No. 147/2024/ND-CP and the Law on Telecommunications, which require cross-border platforms to register and comply with content moderation requests.

Additionally, Telegram has been linked to rising scams in Vietnam. Cybersecurity experts note that its features, like end-to-end encryption and the ability to delete messages for both parties, are exploited by scammers for fraud, phishing, and data theft. Since 2023, authorities have warned about scams involving fake investment schemes, cryptocurrency fraud, and romance scams. For instance, in May 2024, Nam Dinh authorities prosecuted individuals running 50+ Telegram groups with 25,000 members for prostitution and fraud, causing significant financial losses.

This move aligns with Vietnam’s broader push to control online platforms, as seen with regulations requiring user identity verification and content moderation. Critics argue this reflects increasing censorship, while the government claims it’s necessary for national security and public safety.

🔗 Read More

🔼 Telegram climbed up in the rankings of the most downloaded apps of Q1 2025, while all Meta apps (WA, IG, FB etc) dropped 🔽

Let’s keep it going like this 🙂

©️ @durov