DIGITAL LIFE

Telegram suspended in Spain

Spain's Supreme Court ordered the suspension of Telegram services in the country following reports that the messaging app was allowing prohibited content to be sent.

According to information from Reuters, judge Santiago Pedraz agreed to block Telegram services in Spain while the allegations are investigated.

From next Monday (25th) the use of the service will be temporarily suspended.

It will be the responsibility of mobile phone operators to block Telegram services, says the Spanish court.

The complaint came from media companies in the country, including Telefônica, in the telecommunications sector.

Telegram has not yet commented on the case. The messaging app is the fourth most popular in Spain, according to data from competition regulators CNMC (the country's National Market and Competition Commission). Globally, the service has more than 700 million active users.

Abuse of economic power and manipulation of information. This is how the Federal Police (PF) describes the actions of Google and Telegram against the Fake News Bill (PL) in Brazil. The Chamber of Deputies accused the companies of carrying out a “sordid” disinformation campaign to protect economic interests, using their dominant position in the market.

In May 2023 in Brazil, the PGR asked the Federal Supreme Court (STF) to open an investigation to investigate the companies. The body alleged “distortion of the debate on regulation”, which was accepted by minister Alexandre de Moraes.

The Brazilian Federal Police highlighted that companies tried to influence users to pressure parliamentarians, overloading the Chamber's IT services and promoting a distorted view of the bill. Delegate Fabio Fajngolde pointed out that the actions of Google Brasil and Telegram Brasil could constitute crimes against the consumerist order — this includes: misleading and abusive advertising. The PGR will analyze the PF's conclusions to decide the next steps.

mundophone