Regulations on Telegram

Draft bill #11115 of March 25, 2024 

Cosponsors: a group of 12 MPs from the factions Servant of the People, European Solidarity, and Holos and For the Future group with Mykola Kniazhytskyi as the first signatory 

Status: sent for review to the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada on Humanitarian and Information Policy 

Who is affected: social media users, information service providers, and the National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting 

Summary: 

• providers of platforms for shared information access that disseminate mass information, including Telegram, will be recognized as a separate category of entities in legislation on media. A distinctive characteristic of these platforms is pages (accounts, channels, etc.) through which the mass information is distributed 
• requirements for the providers of platforms for shared information access (for example, Telegram) will be set. Most of them duplicate the requirements for providers of video sharing platforms (for example, YouTube) 
• a provider of platforms for shared information access will have to designate a representative (an office, a legal entity, or an individual with a power of attorney) based in Ukraine for communication purposes. This requirement will not apply to platforms registered or with offices in the EU 
• providers of platforms for shared information access will be required to disclose information about their owners and funding sources at the request of the National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting. Media entities owned or funded by citizens of the aggressor state will not be allowed to operate in Ukraine 
• the impossibility of conducting the check due to lack of communication with the provider (either due to the absence of a representative or to the failure to provide requested documents and information) will be a legitimate reason to recognize the provider’s ownership non-transparent 
• government bodies, local self-government bodies, their officials, and financial service providers will be forbidden to use the platforms for shared information access with non-transparent ownership. In particular, they will not be allowed to have accounts on such platforms or use them to send notifications to users 

• employees of government bodies and local self-government bodies will be forbidden to install such platforms and related services on devices used for official purposes 
• the Cabinet will be responsible for developing a procedure for using platforms for shared information access with non-transparent ownership by public servants and service members 
• responsibilities and penalties for providers of platforms for shared information access will be analogous to those established by the current law on media for providers of video sharing platforms. 

What is right: 

• personal data of users of platforms for shared information access (for example, Telegram) will be better protected 
• there will be more tools for blocking illegal content 
• the bill could help to establish communication with the owners of Telegram channels who disseminate false information 
• the transparency of the operations of the providers of platforms for shared information access will be established, their ownership structure will be revealed. 

Background information: On March 31, 2023, the Law on Media that regulates, among other things, the activities of video sharing platforms (YouTube), came into effect.