According to a Gizcoupon report on May 2nd, Brazilian police had previously requested Telegram to provide data related to two groups that incited school violence to assist in the investigation of related cases. However, Telegram refused the request, resulting in last week’s nationwide ban in Brazil.
Recently, Brazilian Judge Flávio Lucas changed the ruling against Telegram. They imposed a daily fine of $200,000 (approximately 1.386 million RMB) for failure to provide the data.
According to The New York Times, a young man was accused of being involved in two school shooting incidents in Brazil last November. Two incidents left 3 dead and 13 injured. The judiciary claimed that they found violent clips and bomb-making tutorials in two Telegram groups. Initially, Telegram did not comply with the court’s request to provide the data. They stated that both groups had been deleted, and the content could not be restored.
The ban has affected millions of Brazilians who use Telegram as their primary means of communication. The messaging app has also faced criticism for its lack of transparency and failure to address hate speech and other illegal activities on its platform. While privacy is a fundamental right, it should not be used as a shield to protect criminal activities. However, any encroachment on privacy must be carefully balanced with the need to protect civil liberties.
