Telegram Banned in Brazil After Judge Orders Shutdown of Messaging App Over Disinformation Concerns

Brazil will have a lesser mode of communication after a Supreme Court judge ordered the shutdown of messaging app Telegram nationwide.

In a decision released on Friday, Judge Alexandre de Moraes ordered the app to be blocked across the South American country because it failed to comply with orders from authorities and remove messages found to contain disinformation, Al Jazeera reported.

According to Associated Press, Telegram ignored a police request to block profiles and provide information about blogger Allan dos Santos, who is an ally of President Jair Bolsonaro accused of spreading disinformation.

De Moraes, who heads a probe on misinformation in Brazilian social media, issued a warrant of arrest for Dos Santos in October. The fugitive activist, now based in the United States, has remained active on Telegram.

In his ruling, De Moraes further noted that the Telegram failed to comply in removing misleading content from Bolsonaro's page about the country's electronic voting system.

"The Telegram platform, at every possible opportunity, failed to heed judicial orders in a total disregard for the Brazilian judiciary," De Moraes said.

According to reports, De Moraes gave Google and Apple five days to block Telegram from their platforms. Both tech giants had yet to comment.

The Brazilian judge also instructed Wilson Diniz Wellisch, the head of telecoms regulator Anatel, to implement the suspension within 24 hours.

Al Jazeera reported that the suspension would remain until the app complies with the judicial orders, presents a country representative before the court, and pays fines.

Telegram Founder Reacts on Brazil Judge's Decision

In a statement, one of the founders of Telegram, Pavel Durov, said their company had troubles with emails going between their corporate addresses and the Brazilian Supreme Court.

As a result of the miscommunication, Durov noted that the court ruled to ban the app for being unresponsive. Durov apologized to the Supreme Court for their negligence, adding that their company could have "done a better job."

The Telegram executive then noted that they complied with an earlier court decision in late February and has responded with a suggestion to send future takedown requests to a "dedicated email address."

"Unfortunately, our response must have been lost, because the Court used the old general-purpose email address in further attempts to reach us," Durov said.

Durov then asked Brazil's Supreme Court to delay its ruling for a few days to allow them to appoint a representative in Brazil and to set up "a framework to react to future pressing issues like this in an expedited manner."

Telegram in Brazil has remained operational as of Friday evening.

Jair Bolsonaro's Camp on Supreme Court Judge's Decision to Block Telegram in Brazil

Jair Bolsonaro has had various posts blocked on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube for violating their rules on misinformation. The Brazilian president then encouraged his supporters to follow him on Telegram as the vote nears, France 24 reported.

Bolsonaro will face an uphill battle to win reelection, now trailing former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in polls. Brazil's justice minister Anderson Torres criticized the Supreme Court's decision.

He tweeted that the Bolsonaro administration will "immediately seek a solution to reestablish the people's right to use whatever social media they like."

Lawmaker Carla Zambelli, a close ally of Bolsonaro, called De Moraes "a tyrant" for the ruling. On the other hand, Allan dos Santos, a Bolsonaro supporter, said De Moraes' decisions "are based solely on his will" and the judge, at some point, should be stopped or have to stop.

"I don't believe the Brazilian people will accept these atrocities," the blogger noted.

According to AP, Bolsonaro and his allies had encouraged Brazilians to join Telegram since January last year. Bolsonaro has often expressed doubts on the integrity of this year's elections, implying that he might not accept the results if the electronic system is not changed to the one that includes printed receipts that can be recounted.

Brazilain judicial experts and critics rebuffed the president's claims and accused him of sowing doubt ahead of the elections in order to dispute the results.

The judge's decision came the same day Bolsonaro promoted his Telegram channel.

"Our Telegram informs the public every day of many important actions of national interest, which many regrettably omit. Welcome, and share the truth," Bolsonaro wrote.

To date, Bolsonaro has over one million Telegram followers, excluding numerous fan groups with names like "Reelect Bolsonaro 2022." Lula, for his part, has 47,000.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Joshua Summers

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