There was another possible development: Reuters also reported that Ukraine said that Belarus could soon join the invasion of Ukraine. However, the AFP, citing a Pentagon official, said the U.S. hasnāt yet seen evidence that Belarusian troops are in Ukraine. Oleksandra Matviichuk, a Kyiv-based lawyer and head of the Center for Civil Liberties, called Durovās position "very weak," and urged concrete improvements. For example, WhatsApp restricted the number of times a user could forward something, and developed automated systems that detect and flag objectionable content. As the war in Ukraine rages, the messaging app Telegram has emerged as the go-to place for unfiltered live war updates for both Ukrainian refugees and increasingly isolated Russians alike. Telegram has become more interventionist over time, and has steadily increased its efforts to shut down these accounts. But this has also meant that the company has also engaged with lawmakers more generally, although it maintains that it doesnāt do so willingly. For instance, in September 2021, Telegram reportedly blocked a chat bot in support of (Putin critic) Alexei Navalny during Russiaās most recent parliamentary elections. Pavel Durov was quoted at the time saying that the company was obliged to follow a ālegitimateā law of the land. He added that as Apple and Google both follow the law, to violate it would give both platforms a reason to boot the messenger from its stores.
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