Reliance Jio has denied Telegram founder Pavel Durov’s accusations that it deliberately disrupted access to the messaging app for users outside India via BGP hijacking
Jio said claims about misconfigured routes involving its AS55836 are false and that it follows global routing best practices.
The disputed gateway actually belongs to the insolvent Reliance Communications, which has not commented.
Reliance Jio Denies Durov's Hacking Claims Amid Telegram Ban Row
Durov called the disruption intentional, given Reliance's failure to act on multiple reports
Reliance Jio File Photo
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Reliance Jio on Wednesday denied allegations made by Telegram founder Pavel Durov that the telecom operator deliberately disrupted access to the messaging app for users outside India through unauthorised internet routing manipulation.
In an X (formerly Twitter) post, Jio clarified that the speculations about Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (AS55836) and a Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) route misconfiguration triggered by Durov's post are not true, and the company continues to operate within global routing best practices.
The Telegram founder alleged that Reliance was sabotaging its access for millions of users outside India, including the UAE, through BGP hijacking.
Durov Claims Deliberate Disruption
Durov called the disruption intentional, given Reliance's failure to act on multiple reports. "The sabotage seems intentional, as Reliance has ignored multiple reports," wrote Durov in the post.
The CEO linked the alleged disruption to competitive tensions, noting Reliance's partial ownership ties to Meta, owner of the rival messaging app WhatsApp.
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In the post, he also advised network operators to reject unauthorised BGP announcements from autonomous system AS18101.
However, the gateway referenced in Durov's post actually belongs to Reliance Communications, a separate company, undergoing insolvency proceedings, not Reliance Jio.
Reliance Communications, on the other hand, did not respond to the queries on the matter.
Reliance May be Behind Telegram's India Ban
In the same post, Durov also suggested that Reliance or WhatsApp could be behind lobbying efforts to ban Telegram in India. "I wouldn't be surprised if Reliance/WhatsApp were also behind the recent lobbying efforts to ban Telegram in India," said the Telegram founder.
These claims came in the context of the Indian government's week-long ban on Telegram, ordered by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) under Section 69A, citing leaked NEET-Ug examination material ahead of the retest schedule for June 21.
The ban runs till June 22, with a separate restriction on Telegram's message-editing feature in place until June 30.
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Telegram has challenged the ban in the Delhi High Court, which is set to hear arguments on Thursday.
In a separate post, Durov criticised the ban, arguing it punishes over 150 million ordinary Indian users and that the restriction had failed to stop leaked material, calling it a mistake.