The messaging app, Telegram, has been ordered by a federal court in Brazil to be blocked and may face a daily fine of around €180,000. However, two days after the order was made, the operators have yet to respond. This ruling was made because the app refused to provide the federal Brazilian police with requested data on neo-Nazi chat groups. These groups are being investigated due to an increase in armed attacks on schools and kindergartens in recent months. The court in Espírito Santo ruled for the ban to be put in place. According to reports, Telegram is already inaccessible to some users.
This is not the first conflict for Telegram in Brazil. The nationwide ban is due to investigations in chat groups where members are said to have incited violence. Over the last 19 years, there have been about two dozen bloody school attacks in the country, with half of them in the past 12 months. The government is currently discussing new guidelines for operators to prevent further cases.
Following the recent attacks, Brazil has been focused on harmful influences on social media. As Telegram has refused to pass on requested data to the police, the Counter Terrorism Division is now investigating. Telegram has previously been blocked in Brazil for violations of judicial decisions, but after cooperating, the ban was lifted.
