The National Court of Justice in Madrid has temporarily ordered the temporary blocking of the Telegram short message service in Spain. The media companies Mediaset, Atresmedia and Moviestar Plus had sued Telegram for violating copyright protection regulations, the judiciary in Madrid said. However, Telegram could initially be reached further from Spain.
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Consumer advocates in Spain, where there are several million Telegram users, criticized the measure as disproportionate. The professional association for computer technology, Consejo General de Colegios Profesionales de Ingeniería, criticized the order as “surprising”, especially since investigations into drug trafficking, terrorism or depictions of child sexual abuse on Instagram have not yet led to the application being blocked. However, country restrictions can be circumvented using a VPN.
Unsuccessful request for administrative assistance
According to the court, Judge Santiago Pedraz has repeatedly requested administrative assistance from the authorities of the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean, where Telegram is registered. However, the authorities there did not cooperate in clarifying the identity of the owners of Telegram accounts from which copyrighted content was distributed. The court emphasized that the temporary blocking of the entire Telegram service was “necessary, appropriate and proportionate” from the judge’s point of view.
The newspaper El País wrote that Telegram regularly refuses to provide information to the authorities. Since the service protects the identity of its users more than the larger competition from WhatsApp, it is preferred by opponents of the regime in dictatorships such as Russia or Iran. But there are also channels on Telegram with criminal or extremist content. In addition to protecting copyrights, the ordered blockade is primarily about a conflict between the judge of a constitutional state and a private company and about the balance between anonymity and impunity on the Internet.
In Germany, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faden suggested switching off Telegram two years ago. The chat service is particularly frequently used by right-wing extremists and conspiracy believers for mobilization. In an interview with Die Zeit, Faeser called for faster sanctions for misconduct. Telegram apparently responded to German concerns and handed over user data to the Federal Criminal Police Office for investigation purposes in the course of 2022.
(anw)