Brazil’s top judge demands blockade of Telegram over disinformation policy

The Brazilian Supreme Court has ruled that messaging app Telegram should be blocked in the country because the people behind the app do not comply with orders to remove channels that spread disinformation. Telegram promises improvement.

The verdict comes from the Supremo Tribunal Federal and was rendered last Friday. In addition to ignoring orders to remove certain channels, Telegram is also said to be “not following the laws of the land,” according to Reuterswho has seen the verdict. The verdict has been passed on to the telecoms authority and the suspension would be in effect until Telegram “complies with existing court orders, pays a series of fines and summons a company representative for Brazil to appear in the Supreme Court”.

Telegram explains in a reaction which was put online by The Verge that it was a miscommunication. Telegram suggested using a specially configured email address for takedown requests, but the judicial system continued to mail to Telegram’s common address. Telegram is said to have overlooked the emails in that inbox and therefore failed to respond to requests.

Telegram chief Pavel Durov says the company “could certainly have done a better job” in this case. He asks for the verdict to be postponed so that Telegram can take the necessary measures: “I am sure that once a reliable communication channel is established, we can efficiently process take-down requests for illegal, public channels in Brazil.”

The judge also ordered Google and Apple to block Telegram on their platforms. Reuters says the two tech companies have not yet responded. According to the site, Facebook, Google and Twitter do comply with court orders in the country, which would draw disinformation more to Telegram.