2023-05-05 15:31:24
justice
Millions fine against messenger service Telegram
Telegram is not a social network, but an “online service for the purpose of individual communication,” argue the company’s lawyers. photo
© Fabian Sommer/dpa
It’s about fines in the millions. The company is accused of violating the Network Enforcement Act.
The Bonn district court will soon have to deal with fines amounting to millions that the Federal Office of Justice (BfJ) issued against the messenger service Telegram. A court spokesman said.
It is about two notices issued last October with a total amount of 5.1 million euros for violations of the German Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG). The law regulates the handling of user complaints about hate crime and other criminal content on the Internet.
The BfJ accuses Telegram of not providing a permanently available complaints procedure for users of the service to report illegal content on the platform. The office punished this violation with 4.25 million euros. In addition, a fine of 875,000 euros was due because Telegram did not name a so-called authorized recipient to whom German courts and authorities can send documents with legally binding effect. According to the NetzDG, such reporting channels are mandatory for social networks that have at least two million users.
According to the court spokesman, the Telegram lawyers in their appeals against the decisions deny that the company exceeded this threshold. Telegram is not a social network, but an “online service for the purpose of individual communication”. A decision on the case is expected in the fall.
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