A judge of the Brazilian Supreme Court has ruled that Telegram’s chat application will be blocked in the country. According to Judge Alexandre de Moraes, the app has repeatedly refused to comply with court orders that block accounts that spread false information or do not comply with the laws of the country.
The order is seen as a major setback for right-wing populist President Bolsonaro, who has one million Telegram subscribers and uses the app heavily in his campaign for reelection in the October presidential election. Bolsonaro describes the statement as “unacceptable”.
According to Judge De Moraes, Telegram has not complied with the police’s request to block profiles and posts linked to blogger Allan dos Santos. He comes from Bolsonaro’s circle and is accused of spreading disinformation.
Telegram also does not have a legal representative in Brazil, while other chat service providers do. According to the judge, the idea to block the app came from the federal police.
“cruelty”
De Moraes issued an arrest warrant in October against Dos Santons, who now lives in the United States. The blogger tells a pro-Bolsonaro channel that the judge’s decisions were “based solely on what De Moraes wanted”. “There will come a time when it has to stop or will be stopped,” he said. “I don’t think the Brazilians will accept this atrocity,” he said.
Pavel Durov, one of the founders of Telegram, claims it was a miscommunication. According to him, the Supreme Court used an old public email address to contact Telegram. He asks the court to postpone the decision for a few days so that Telegram can comply with the judge’s demands.
Source: NOS
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