Almaty court bans Telegram dating bot Daivinchik with 17 million users

August 13, 2026 at 04:31 PM2 min

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An Almaty district court bans the Telegram dating service Daivinchik at the request of local prosecutors, citing absence of age verification and risks to minors. The bot has more than 17 million subscribers, with a significant share minors, according to Tengrinews. The ruling comes as Telegram users across Kazakhstan report widespread outages, with authorities saying technicians are investigating.

The Court Ruling

The Alatau District Court in Almaty ruled to ban the Telegram bot Daivinchik Znakomstva after monitoring by the district prosecutor. Court materials cited more than 16 million registered users, while Tengrinews reported the bot has over 17 million subscribers. The service operated without age restrictions and allowed profiles of children and teenagers, according to the court filing.

Child Safety Findings

Prosecutors said uncontrolled operation of the platform had already led to real crimes. They cited a criminal case in which a minor born in 2007 met a suspect through Daivinchik in April 2025 and later entered a sexual relationship. The suit states the bot threatens children's sexual integrity and violates the Constitution and the Law on the Rights of the Child. The court's decision has been sent to an authorized body for enforcement; pre-trial investigation data remains confidential under Article 201 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Telegram Service Disruptions

Separately, Telegram users in Kazakhstan began reporting outages and difficulty sending messages and loading media from around 11:25 a.m. on 13 August, according to Nur.kz. Most complaints came from Astana, Karaganda, Pavlodar and Kostanay regions, 24.kz reported. The Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development said technicians were investigating, while Kazakhtelecom recorded a sharp drop in Telegram traffic at international peering points in Frankfurt and Moscow. The operator said it found no faults in its own infrastructure and sent an official request to Telegram's technical team.