The Federal Supreme Court (STF) reported that the messaging application Telegram fulfilled this Saturday (26) Minister Alexandre de Moraes’ order to block three profiles from the service within 24 hours. With this, the platform avoided being taken off the air for 48 hours in Brazil.
Moraes had also stipulated a fine of BRL 100,000 per day in case of non-compliance with the order. The profiles, according to the decision, are related to communicator Allan dos Santos, who is the subject of an inquiry in the Supreme Court on the “suspected of leading a digital militia financing scheme in Brazil”, says a text published on the court’s website.
The minister had determined the blocking of Telegram accounts in January, but the Supreme was unable to summon the representation in Brazil of the company responsible for the application.
In the new decision, the minister determined that the notification be made to a law firm that is the attorney in Brazil for the company responsible for Telegram, which originates in Russia and maintains today headquartered in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.
The Superior Electoral Court (TSE) has also been trying to officiate Telegram to cooperate in the fight against disinformation during this year’s electoral process, but correspondence attempts have not been successful so far.
The authorities fear that Telegram is a stage for disinformation in the country during the electoral process because the app has not shown willingness to implement means to stop the dissemination of information known to be untrue.
In the application, for example, it is possible to form groups with hundreds of thousands of people, who receive messages simultaneously. The main competitor, WhatsApp, for example, allows groups of only 300 people.
