Telegram blocks 64 channels under pressure from federal government

Things soon got out of hand on the Telegram messenger platform. Due to pressure from the German government, 64 channels have already been blocked. However, this is only the beginning, because the task force of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) has already reported more channels.

Telegram blocks 64 channels with conspicuous content

As reported by the Süddeutsche Zeitung, citing security circles, Telegram has blocked 64 channels in response to pressure from the German government. Among them is that of right-wing conspiracy theorist Attila Hildmann.

The Interior Ministry and the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) in particular have intensified the pressure in recent weeks and forced Telegram to act. A request from the BKA had been sent to the messenger service, which had already shut down 64 channels as a result.

Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser appealed in January to Apple and Google to become aware of their overall social responsibility and ban Telegram from their app stores. A few days later, they backed away from the planned Telegram shutdown, revealing they wanted to increase pressure on the platform.

In early February, Telegram had agreed to cooperate with the federal government, with further talks taking place on Feb. 10, according to the report. Government and company want to “remain in close exchange in the future,” the report continues, as company founder Pavel Durov has assured.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) wants to continue to crack down: “Telegram must no longer be an accelerant for right-wing extremists, conspiracy ideologues and other agitators.” Death threats and dangerous hate postings would have to be deleted immediately and clear criminal consequences.

The deletion action sees the Minister of the Interior as a success of weeks of pressure. However, the blocked Telegram channels have so far only been accessible from Germany or for users who have registered with a German phone number.

If they want to access a blocked channel, they get a message that it is no longer available “because it violates local laws”. Telegram is used by radical anti-vaccinationists, right-wing radicals and contrarians, among others. The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) only recently set up a task force to specifically pursue legal violations on the Internet.