Ban on Telegram. Which universities have restricted the use of the messenger.

From November 11, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv officially ceases the use of the Telegram messenger for official purposes. The decision is approved by the order of the university's rector.

Which other universities are banning Telegram

The use of the Telegram messenger on work devices has been banned for lecturers at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. The restriction took effect on November 1. This means that the ban on the popular Telegram messenger now extends not only to civil servants but also to university lecturers.

In particular, the order by Rector Volodymyr Melnyk states that lecturers of Lviv University are prohibited from transmitting work information through Telegram or communicating there for work purposes.

University employees are also prohibited from installing Telegram or opening web versions of the messenger. This applies even to personal laptops if the lecturer uses it at work. Instead, the university encourages students and lecturers to join the information channel in WhatsApp.

Telegram is banned at the Chernivtsi National University named after Yuriy Fedkovych. In particular, the institution has decided to:

• Prohibit the transmission of information related to the university's work and conducting official communication through the Telegram messenger.
• Prohibit installing and using Telegram or its web version on service and personal computers used for work.
• Cease the use of Telegram service accounts (channels, bots, etc.) and remove links to them from the university's website and social media.
• Implement technical measures to restrict access to the messenger.

The decree banning Telegram was published by Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University on November 6.

Similarly, the Ukrainian Catholic University took action. Oleksii Molchanovskyi, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Applied Sciences at UCU and co-founder of Prometheus, told DOU that the university implemented a Telegram ban. The restriction is introduced according to the rector's order "to limit the use of the Telegram messenger for official communication of UCU with applicants, students, graduates, and employees".

Iryna Melnyk, head of the media communications center of the National Aviation University, reported that the university also has a ban on using the messenger. Currently, it only applies to internal communications. This means there cannot be work chats with colleagues or partners where any work issues could be discussed. A decision regarding the limitation of external communications has not yet been made.

The Sumy State University reported that there is no ban, and there will not be any for personal correspondence. However, several internal processes are already transitioning to WhatsApp.

On September 19, the National Cybersecurity Coordination Center decided to limit the use of Telegram in government bodies, military formations, and critical infrastructure facilities.