SPANISH COURT ORDER TO STOP USING TELEGRAM “AS SOON AS POSSIBLE”

Sun 24 March 2024:

On the grounds of alleged improper use of audio and video content protected by copyright, the Spanish National Court decided on Saturday to halt the use of the instant messaging application Telegram.

Judge Santiago Pedraz of the National Court considered the charges brought by Mediaset, Atresmedia, and Movistar Plus, and he acknowledged copyright violations.

He sent the Spanish phone companies Vodafone, Orange, Digi, Movistar, MasMovil, and others the order to stop using Telegram “as soon as possible.”

Despite an ongoing investigation into the allegations, he deemed the suspension of Telegram usage, which he accused of “non-collaboration” and a “failure to enable the reporting of specific technical data,” as a precautionary measure.

He considered it “necessary, appropriate, and proportionate.”

Telegram use continues in Spain but it is expected to be shut down shortly.

Pedraz’s decision has drawn criticism from various quarters.

The consumer association, Facua, argued that the “disproportionate” decision would cause “significant harm” to millions of users, companies, organizations and public and private entities that disseminate content.

Podemos party leader, Ione Belarra, criticized the decision as “a threat to freedoms, unfair, censorious, and entirely disproportionate” in a social media post.

Telegram, founded by Russian brothers Nikolai and Pavel Durov as an alternative to WhatsApp, has been active since 2013.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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