Kazakhstan bans 'Daiwinchik' chat bot over underage risks

A court in Kazakhstan banned the Telegram dating bot 'Divingchik'.

Consensus

The Telegram chat bot 'Daiwinchik' was blocked in Kazakhstan.
The ban was ordered by the Alatau District Court in Almaty.
The decision was made at the request of the prosecution.
The prosecution cited the absence of age verification mechanisms as a key reason.
The platform was deemed to pose a threat to the safety of minors.
The court found that the bot's operation had already led to real crimes involving underage users.
The court's decision was based on violations of Kazakhstan's Constitution and the Law on Children's Rights.
The prosecution stated that the bot was accessible to a broad audience without age restrictions.
The bot was used by children and teenagers, including in the creation of profiles.
The court's ruling was sent to the authorized body for enforcement.
Information about ongoing criminal investigations is not publicly available due to legal restrictions.

A major outage in Telegram occurred in Kazakhstan on August 13, which experts speculated might have been a government attempt to block the platform, though global access was unaffected. — meduza
The prosecution reported that the bot was used by minors to post profiles, and that a specific case involved an underage girl (born in 2007) who entered into a sexual relationship with a suspect after meeting him via the bot. — tg_echoonline_news
The case involved a minor named A. (born in 2007), who met a suspect named N. in April 2025 and engaged in a sexual relationship. — tvrain
The case involved a minor named A. (2007 birth year) who met a suspect named N. in April 1925, which is factually impossible and likely a typo. — tg_tvrain
The Russian FSB accused Pavel Durov of terrorism support due to 'Daiwinchik', claiming it was used by Ukrainian intelligence to recruit Russians for sabotage and terrorism. — tg_varlamov_news
In December 2025, 'Daiwinchik/Leo' was added to Russia's banned websites list based on materials classified as child pornography and 'LGBT propaganda'. — tvrain