The OOTO Message That Wasn't
Image: Andre M. Chang/ZUMAPRESS
The messaging app Telegram has been suspended in Brazil, after Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Friday said it had repeatedly refused to adhere to judicial orders to freeze accounts spreading disinformation or comply with the country's laws.
🤔 Why it’s a big deal: Around half of all Brazilian smartphone owners have the app downloaded.
🚫📲 Was Telegram given any warning?... They were – but the company was checking the wrong email; the Court’s messages were being sent to an “old general-purpose email address,” according to CEO Pavel Durov.
📸 The big picture: Conservative President Jair Bolsonaro and his supporters have increasingly relied on Telegram as a form of mass communication as larger tech companies like Meta, Google and Twitter have adhered to Supreme Court orders to drop offending accounts over allegedly spreading disinformation, Reuters reports.
- Moraes has been leading a series of Supreme Court investigations into Bolsonaro and his supporters for allegedly disseminating fake news; this has angered many on the right and raised questions about judicial overreach.
🇧🇷🇷🇺 Zoom out: Brazil’s legal system has previously ordered blocks of Telegram competitor WhatsApp, but the bans have been short-lived.
- Telegram has also been banned in Russia for refusing to share encryption keys in anti-terrorism investigations, though that was lifted in 2020.
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