Court Suspends Its Previous Order to Block Telegram in Spain

Thomas Gualtieri
2 min read
0

(Bloomberg) -- A Spanish court suspended an order it issued earlier to block instant messaging service Telegram in the country as part of an investigation on users illegally sharing TV and video content.

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Judge Santiago Pedraz, of Spain’s National Court, asked the police to prepare a report on the app and how its users could be affected by the suspension, according to a court statement on Monday.

Pedraz previously issued an injunction to block Telegram for as long as six months starting Monday as he investigates content sharing on several of the platform’s channels, according to a copy of the ruling seen by Bloomberg. The investigation targets the individual owners of the channels rather than the company itself, according to the filing.

Telegram has about 900 million active users and is one of the most popular messaging apps globally. Its owner Pavel Durov uses a light touch to moderate content on the service, leading to allegations that it is frequently used for criminal activity and extremist material.

The judge’s decisions follow a complaint filed by industry lobby Egeda and by Telefonica SA’s TV unit. Egeda’s members include Atresmedia Corporacion de Medios de Comunicacion SA and MFE-MediaForEurope NV’s local unit, Spain’s two biggest TV broadcasters.

Telegram users can create so-called channels to share content anonymously that can then be downloaded or watched by people with the app.

The court previously failed to deliver requests to Telegram to identify the owners of the channels targeted in the complaints. It asked authorities in the Virgin Islands, where Telegram is registered, to deliver the request but did not receive a response.

Pedraz’s initial decision named several local telecommunications operators, including Telefonica and Orange SA, who will have to block Telegram. The investigation is set to be concluded by Sept. 29.

Telegram did not respond to a message seeking comment through its press channel.

The suspension order was first reported by Europa Press.

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