Shafaq News- Baghdad

Telegram services abruptly stopped across several Iraqi provinces on Friday evening, while the platform continued to operate in the Kurdistan Region, the digital rights group Tech 4 Peace reported.

Users in Baghdad, Basra, Najaf, Saladin, Kirkuk, Diyala, and other areas reported the disruption had lasted for more than an hour at the time of writing, with uncertainty persisting over whether the outage was caused by a technical issue or a restriction.

No official statement has been issued so far.

On August 6, 2023, Iraqi authorities blocked Telegram, citing “national security and social stability,” before lifting the ban days later, with the Communications Ministry emphasizing that it does not oppose freedom of expression but requires social media companies to comply with national laws and protect user data.

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