On Sunday, Brazil’s Supreme Court has lifted its ban on a popular messaging application, Telegram, after the company complied with court orders. The messaging application got into trouble after it repeatedly ignored the court’s orders to block accounts that were spreading fake news.
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, on Friday, passed an order to ban Telegram in the country. The next day, Telegram founder Pavel Durov released a public apology for the company’s “negligence” in replying to court orders.
“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 Sunday as part of Telegram’s response to the court.
Telegram is one of the most used messaging applications in Brazil as it is considered a privacy-focused messaging service. In the apology note sent by Durov, 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”.
Telegram took quick actions to comply with the court’s orders by removing accounts of people spreading misinformation. As a result, the court lifted its band on the messaging application. “I revoke the decision to fully and completely suspend the operation of Telegram in Brazil,” Justice Alexandre de Moraes wrote in the Supreme Court statement.
Which messaging application do you use and why? Let us know in the comments below.
