Russia to fine Merlinux of DeltaChat
Merlinux GmbH is targeted by the Russian Federation
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After the Russian Federation has fined the XSF with 600 thousand Rubles, it further its demands to Merlinux of DeltaChat.
Delta Chat in Russia in court: Judgment against German development team
Russia takes action against Messenger Delta Chat and is targeting a Freiburg company. It defends itself and also warns the EU.
The decentralized, encryptable messenger Delta Chat is a thorn in the side of the Russian authorities. In order to proceed against him, the Russian regulatory authority Roskomnadsor classifies the Freiburg company Merlinux as "organizers of the information spread on the Internet" (OIDI) because it sees Merlinux as the operator of Delta Chat. Roskomnadsor requires Merlinux to comply with Russian laws-specifically the publication of user data and decryption keys to the domestic secret service FSB.
On the other hand, Merlinux and his managing director Holger Krekel, who coordinate the development of Delta Chat, defend themselves, but do not see themselves as the operator of the chat service. "We cannot issue data that we do not have", explains Holger Krekel. You have objected to the request of Roskomnadsor and have drawn in front of Russian dishes. The Moscow city court made a judgment against Merlinux in the second instance. A district court had previously rejected the arguments of the Freiburg.
According to Delta Chat, the chat service in Russia is enjoying growing popularity. The Freiburger see the reason an "increasing distrust of centralized services, which many are perceived by Russian authorities by many", as stated in a press release from Merlinux to the judgment.