Brazil Bans Telegram to Combat School Violence

The Brazilian government has been urged to temporarily ban the social media app Telegram. The decision was made by a federal judge on Wednesday (April 26) in an effort to reduce violence in schools, following the app's failure to provide information requested by the Federal Police regarding a neo-Nazi chat group. Some Telegram users have reported that they are no longer able to use the app, and Google and Apple have been asked to block Telegram from their respective app stores.

"The facts shown by the police authorities demonstrate Telegram's unwillingness to cooperate with this investigation," stated the Brazilian Federal Police. In addition to the ban, the court has also increased the daily fine to $200,000 from $100,000. So far, there has been no comment from Telegram regarding the ban or the fine.

Brazil has been facing a wave of school attacks recently, with dozens of attacks since 2000, half of which have occurred in the past 12 months. The federal government has been attempting to crack down on school violence, with a particular focus on the perceived negative influence of social media.

In a meeting earlier this month between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, ministers, supreme court judges, governors, and mayors, there were repeated discussions about regulating social media platforms to prevent further incidents, especially holding Telegram accountable for failing to remove content that incites violence.

Speaking at the meeting on April 18, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes referred to social media as "no man's land," where users can still engage in illegal actions and speech in real life. As a result, he deemed regulation necessary. President Lula da Silva has voiced his support for social media regulation.

Last year, de Moraes ordered the national closure of Telegram, citing the app's repeated failure to comply with Brazilian authorities' requests, including blocking profiles and providing information about users.