German Interior Minister Nancy Feser allowed the blocking of the Telegram messenger in the country due to new legislation, according to which social networks must report illegal content to the authorities.
“We are a state governed by the rule of law, but we also cannot rule out this (blocking. – Ed.). Blocking would be a very serious step and clearly a last resort. Before that, all other measures must be exhausted, ”she said in an interview with the German newspaper Die Zeit.
“To say that we will eventually shut down the service would be clearly painful for any service provider. But we must always watch what happens if the service is disabled – then another will come and we will face the same problem. Therefore, I do not exclude that we should increase our efforts in the legal field, ”the minister added.
According to Feather, the messenger is regularly issued with instructions on violations of the law, but their implementation “partially stalled.” A common European solution is required to resolve the current situation, the minister stressed.
On February 1 this year, a law will come into force in Germany, according to which social networks will have to not only remove illegal content, but also report the process to the Federal Criminal Police Office.
The head of the German Justice Ministry, Marco Buschmann, on January 9, in an interview with the Bild newspaper, said that Telegram would face millions in fines if it did not comply with local legislation. He also called on the founder of the messenger, Pavel Durov, to appoint an official representative in the country to resolve legal issues.
According to Bloomberg, the claims of the German authorities to Telegram are related to the use of the messenger as a platform for “extremist groups.” We are talking about using the messenger to organize “demonstrations against the government’s policy regarding the pandemic,” the agency notes. Authorities are investigating Telegram “death threats” against Manuela Schwezig, Prime Minister of the federal state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
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