25 March 2022
Brazilian Judicial Branch v. Telegram (and Bolsonaro)
On March 18, 2022, the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes suspended Telegram’s functioning in Brazil through an individual injunction. In brief, the platform was blocked because its owners ignored their duty to cooperate with the Brazilian state in the repression of the illicit activities committed over the platform. However, only analyzing the issue’s core misses one of its essential surrounding elements: the direct interest of President Jair Bolsonaro in the free operation of the platform and the growing antagonism between him and Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Continue reading >>
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21 December 2021
Don’t shoot the Messenger
Die deutsche Politik hat Telegram als zentrales Problem für den gesellschaftlichen Frieden entdeckt. Die Nutzung von Telegram zur Verbreitung von Mordaufrufen und Beleidigungen, zur Organisation (auch) rechtswidriger Demonstrationen und schließlich zur Planung von Attentaten führte dazu, dass die neue Bundesinnenministerin Faeser (SPD) und auch Justizminister Buschmann (FDP) ein energisches Vorgehen gegen Telegram ankündigen. Weil die Kontrolle privater Kommunikation eine auch in anderen Kontexten immer stärker werdende Forderung in gesetzgeberischen Vorhaben ist, sollen noch einmal auf die äußerst engen verfassungsrechtlichen Voraussetzungen hierfür hingewiesen werden. Continue reading >>30 March 2021
Seeing through the Eye of God
The messenger app Telegram is swamped with bots which gather and disseminate personal data. Roskomnadzor, Russia’s media watchdog, has just moved to block one of the prominent bots, proudly named ‘Eye of God’. While Telegram bots offer certain positive implications through the newfound transparency they afford, these do not override the tremendous privacy risks posed. But even more importantly, there is little the Russian authorities can do to force Eye of God and other bots to respect the rights of data subjects. Continue reading >>
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