Moraes also cited Telegram's repeated lack of compliance with efforts by the Superior Electoral Tribunal to get it to cooperate in fighting disinformation in the run-up to the elections.īrazilian President Jair Bolsonaro (pictured March 17, 2022) has been eagerly encouraging his base to follow him on Telegram as he gears up to seek reelection in October 2022 EVARISTO SA AFP/File 'Our Telegram informs people every day of many important actions of national interest, which many regrettably omit,' he said.įounded by Russian-born tech entrepreneur Pavel Durov in 2013, Dubai-based Telegram is hugely successful in Brazil, where it has been downloaded on 53 percent of all cell phones.īolsonaro, who has had various posts blocked on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for violating their rules on misinformation, has been eagerly encouraging his base to follow him on Telegram as he gears up to seek reelection in October. That includes a Supreme Court-ordered investigation into allegations against the Bolsonaro administration of using official communication channels to spread disinformation, he said.īolsonaro reacted on Twitter, posting a link to subscribe to his channel on Telegram - which was still operational in Brazil Friday afternoon.

He said the company had repeatedly refused to comply with rulings and requests from police, the Superior Electoral Tribunal and the Supreme Court itself.

is completely incompatible with the rule of law,' wrote Moraes. 'Telegram's disrespect for Brazilian law and repeated failure to comply with countless court decisions. Citing Telegram's failure to comply with orders from Brazilian authorities and remove messages found to contain disinformation, Judge Alexandre de Moraes ordered the app blocked immediately in Brazil, in a ruling dated Thursday and published Friday on the high court's website.

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