San Francisco: Brazil has lifted its ban on Telegram after the country’s Supreme Court blocked the messaging app for failing to comply with court orders.
“Considering that the (court’s requested changes) were fully attended to, I revoke the decision to fully and completely suspend the operation of Telegram in Brazil,” Justice Alexandre de Moraes wrote in a document released by the court.
Justice de Moraes had earlier demanded telecommunications agency Anatel to officially suspend Telegram until it complies with local orders and pays fines.
“The app has always been willing to collaborate with the authorities. What happened was a misunderstanding regarding communication,” said Alan Thomaz, Telegram’s lawyer in Brazil, who was appointed on Sunday as part of the platform’s response to the court
Telegram allegedly failed to prevent users from spreading disinformation as it’s become a communications hub for President Jair Bolsonaro.
Telegram Founder and CEO Pavel Durov said he apologises to the Brazilian Supreme Court for the negligence.
He requested the court to consider delaying its ruling for a few days at its discretion “to allow us to remedy the situation by appointing a representative in Brazil and setting up a framework to react to future pressing issues like this in an expedited manner”.
“The last three weeks have been unprecedented for the world and for Telegram. Our content moderation team was flooded with requests from multiple parties,” Durov had said, mentioning how people are using the platform using Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
