Key takeaways:

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov accused Reliance of intentionally disrupting Telegram access for millions of users and suggested the issue may be tied to Meta’s links with the Indian telecom company.
Durov said Reliance used BGP hijacking, a routing abuse technique that can redirect internet traffic and stop users from reaching online services.
Reliance Jio denied involvement, saying it follows global routing best practices and was not connected to any BGP route misconfiguration.

Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has accused Indian telecom Reliance of sabotaging access to Telegram for millions of users and linked the activity to Meta's investment in the company.

In a post on X, Durov claimed that Reliance is sabotaging access for users outside of India using a method called BGP hijacking.

“The sabotage seems intentional, as Reliance has ignored multiple reports,” he wrote.

BGP hijacking is a malicious technique used by attackers to reroute Internet traffic. Threat actors announce false ownership of groups of IP addresses they do not own in order to redirect traffic through their own networks.

This could prevent users from accessing online services because traffic never reaches its intended destination.

“This may be part of a competitive war, as Reliance is partially owned by Meta — the company behind WhatsApp,” Durov alleged.

The comment relates to close ties between the two companies. Meta recently expanded its partnership with Reliance through plans to build and lease a 168 MW AI-enabled data center in India. The agreement builds on Meta’s $5.7 billion equity investment in Reliance's telecom and digital services business, Jio Platforms, in 2020.

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The companies also extended their collaboration via a joint venture that opened Meta’s open-source AI models to Indian enterprises and developers.

“Network operators are advised to reject unauthorized BGP announcements from Reliance (AS18101) to prevent route hijacks and ensure stable Internet access for their users,” Durov added.

“Such abuse of global Internet routing is alarming. I wouldn’t be surprised if Reliance/WhatsApp were also behind the recent lobbying effort to ban Telegram in India.”

Durov's comments come shortly after Telegram lost its bid to overturn an Indian government order temporarily banning the messaging app. The ban was imposed over allegations that leaked medical exam papers were being shared on the platform.

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Jio said it categorically denies any involvement in such activity in its own post on X.

“Recent posts on X have led to speculation regarding Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (AS55836) and a BGP route misconfiguration. We categorically clarify that Jio has not been involved in any such incident. Jio continues to operate its network in accordance with global Internet routing best practices and the highest standards of reliability, security, and transparency,” the company wrote.

Telegram has over 150 million users in India and counts the country as its biggest market. It has fought against the temporary ban, arguing in court that it took down more than 900 links containing unlawful exam-related content.