Sao Paulo, Brazil – Messaging app Telegram said on Thursday it would appeal a fine and suspension imposed by a Brazilian court after its parent company failed to provide data sought by authorities on neo-Nazis operating on the network. doing.
The court fined Telegram one lakh rupees (about $198,000) per day and ordered it to temporarily suspend its activities for failing to help investigate neo-Nazi activity on the social network related to violence in schools .
The app’s executive director, Pavel Durov, vowed to “stand up for our users in Brazil and their right to private communication”.
He insisted that the data sought was “technically impossible for us to obtain.”
“We are appealing against the verdict and await the final resolution,” he added.
On Thursday, users in Brazil complained of instability in the app and shared advice on how to overcome the block.
Justice Minister Flavio Dino said on Wednesday that groups with anti-Semitic names “were operating in those networks, and we know that they are at the root of violence against our children,” in reference to recent attacks on schools. said in.
Police officers stand at the entrance of the Praia de Coquiral Educational Center, one of two schools, after an armed man opened fire in Aracruz, Brazil, November 25, 2022. (Kadija Fernandes / AFP)
Earlier this month, a man carrying an ax killed four children between the ages of four and seven at their school in the same week as two other, non-fatal school attacks.
Last month, a 13-year-old boy killed a teacher at a Sao Paulo school in a knife attack.
and last November, a 16-year-old shooter wearing a swastika Four people were killed and more than 10 were injured in a twin attack on two schools in Aracruz, in the southeastern state of Espirito Santo.
The G1 news portal quoted police sources as saying that the teenager had allegedly communicated with anti-Semitic groups on Telegram.
According to a document from the Federal Justice Authority in Espirito Santo, investigators had asked Telegram for personal data of members of two alleged antisemitic groups on the platform.
The document states that the company only provided data about one group admin, adding that “Telegram intends not to cooperate with the ongoing investigation.”
