A high court in Spain has ordered a temporary suspension of Telegram services in the country following complaints from several media companies. Telegram, which is the fourth most-used messaging app in Spain, allowed users to upload content by broadcasters without their permission, according to the lawsuit.
The suspension comes after Telegram officials refused to share information about the channels that were uploading the content under question. The court had requested the platform to file its response in July 2023, but the officials failed to comply. The ban will impact roughly 8.5 million users in Spain, according to reports.
The ruling arrived Friday. Telegram was taken to court by four of Spain’s main media groups: Atresmedia, Movistar, Mediaset, and Egeda. They accused Telegram of allowing users to upload copyright-protected content produced by them without authorisation or consent from the companies. The decision to block Telegram is based on the company’s lack of cooperation in identifying the accounts that illegally distributed copyrighted content, according to the court.
The suspension has been roundly condemned by Facua, a consumer rights group in Spain. It has warned that the ban would lead to “enormous damage” and adversely affect millions of users. “It is as if they shut down the internet because there are websites that illegally host content protected by copyright,” Facua said in a statement. The platform has been blocked by the country’s telecom operators following court orders.
Unlike Meta’s WhatsApp, Telegram offers a stronger encryption and does not share information with the authorities. Launched in 2013, the app allows users to create their own channels and publish content. Telegram is banned in several countries, including Pakistan and India. In Pakistan, the app was blocked in 2018, where it had been popular for its privacy features. In some countries where it is blocked, however, Telegram can still be accessed via VPNs (virtual private networks).
