Ukrainian lawmakers may bring a bill to the floor for consideration as early as next plenary week, which proposes restrictions on the activities of the Telegram messenger and other platforms that disseminate mass information. However, there is currently no consensus among parliamentarians regarding support for this initiative.
This is reported by Finway
Key Provisions of the Bill and the Position of Its Proponents
The bill is authored by Member of Parliament Mykola Knyazhytskyi, who expressed hope for the document’s approval in the first reading very soon. According to him, this bill is aimed not only at regulating Telegram’s activities but also at strengthening the state’s protection against information manipulation.
“I believe we will pass this law because there is nothing alarming about it. I think the people from the President’s Office, who viewed Telegram as a tool for political struggle, have now changed their perspective. This law will provide the state with additional tools to protect against the enemy’s use of various information transmission networks—not just Telegram, but including it. Our project is considered too soft and liberal, but if there is political will and desire among the deputies, it can be made stricter by the second reading—specifically, by adding mechanisms for blocking platforms that do not comply with Ukrainian legislation,” Knyazhytskyi stated.
The draft law proposes to introduce the concept of “providers of platforms for shared access to information” as separate entities in the media sector. Such platforms must have an official representative in Ukraine if they are not registered in Europe, to ensure communication with government bodies.
In the absence of transparent financing for the platforms, sanctions are proposed—ranging from fines to a ban on the use of such resources by state structures and authorities.
Compliance of the Bill with European Legislation
Chairman of the Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy Mykyta Poturayev noted that the current version of the bill does not align with two key acts of the European Union: the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA). Ukraine has committed to implementing these acts into national legislation by the end of 2026 without changes.
Poturayev reported that there is already a negative opinion from the Council of Europe regarding the proposed legislative initiatives, as they attempt to equate social platforms with media, which is not supported in the EU. At the same time, he stated that the document could be adopted in the first reading with further refinement and negotiations with European partners.
Deputy Head of the President’s Office Iryna Vereshchuk emphasized that platforms like Telegram are used by the enemy for recruiting terrorists and coordinating attacks, so in the event of a threat to national security, their activities should be restricted.
Deputy from the “Holos” faction Yaroslav Yurchyshyn expressed the opinion that Ukraine could create its own alternative to Telegram if the messenger is blocked.