Thousands rally in Moscow for internet freedom

Thousands of people on Monday carried out a rally in Moscow to protest against recent restrictions on internet freedom in Russia.

Protesters gathered at a central street to rally against authorities' move to block parts of the internet in Russia.

Beginning April, Russian authorities have started to block popular messaging app Telegram over its refusal to hand over encryption keys.

Telegram has refused to share data, citing privacy concerns. It, however, has promised to keep the app running despite the ban.

In a battle to cripple Telegram's operations, the Russian communications watchdog earlier this month blocked some servers owned by tech giants Google and Amazon, affecting millions of Russian websites.

Telegram is developed by Russian entrepreneur Pavel Durov.

(With inputs from agencies)