Brazil High Court Revoked Telegram Suspension

According to a statement of Brazil court on its website, the Supreme Court has revoked the suspension on the use of messaging app, Telegram in the country after it complied with the court request to block accounts that allegedly spread misinformation. 

On Friday, Judge Alexander de Moraes of the Supreme Court ordered a suspension, saying Telegram repeatedly refused to follow court orders to either freeze accounts that spread fake news or comply with the country’s law.

The Supreme Court judge has given a deadline for Telegram to comply with its orders, including freezing accounts belonging to an activist linked to Bolsonaro, Allan dos Santos. 

Far-right President Jair Bolsonaro and his supporters have increasingly relied on Telegram as a large technology company like Meta, which owns the messaging app WhatsApp, Alphabet Inc's Google, and Twitter followed orders of the Supreme Court to drop offending accounts over the spread of disinformation.

Telegram has appointed Alan Campos Elias Thomaz as its legal representative in Brazil, the court statement said. Moraes’ move further stoked debate about freedom of speech in politically polarised Brazil in the latest chapter in the crusading justice’s battle with Bolsonaro and his allies.

Judicial authorities have launched a series of Supreme Court investigations into Bolsonaro and his supporters of the spread of fake news, infuriating many on the right and raising the issue of judicial exaggeration.