Schools: Telegram ignores government and may be suspended – 04/20/2023 – Education

Telegram ignored notification from the Ministry of Justice about measures to contain the spread of threats to schools and may even be suspended in Brazil. The government will open an administrative process against the company.

According to the government, the messaging app was the only digital platform that did not respond to folder notifications.

“This process may result in those sanctions that are [previstas] in the Consumer Defense Code, which are fines up to the eventual suspension of activities in the national territory”, said the Minister of Justice and Public Security, Flávio Dino, this Thursday (20) during the evaluation of the Safe School Operation.

A Sheet contacted lawyer Alan Thomaz, legal representative of Telegram in Brazil, but received no response.

The government’s measures regarding social networking platforms are supported by an ordinance issued on April 12. It is up to the National Secretariat for Consumer Law, according to the ordinance, “to institute administrative proceedings for the investigation and accountability of social network platforms, for any breach of the general duty of safety and care in relation to the propagation of illicit, harmful and harmful content, referring to content that encourages attacks against the school environment”.

“the deadline [de cinco dias para resposta] it’s already sold out. Telegram is traditionally difficult to contact, difficult to dialogue, we saw this during the elections. So Telegram will be treated as an institution that did not respond to the notification from the National Consumer Secretariat “, said Wadih Damous, holder of the portfolio. “We will open sanctioning administrative proceedings in relation to Telegram, but it is not possible to announce details.”

As Telegram has ignored the Ministry of Justice, the government even articulated with Anatel (National Telecommunications Agency) so that the agency also notifies the platform. The folder wants information about what the application has been doing to stop the dissemination of content related to attacks on schools.

The government has previously expressed concern over Telegram, as well as over Twitter. The messaging application was suspended in 2022 by the STF (Federal Supreme Court) for failing to comply with profile blocking orders.

At the beginning of the year, Supreme Minister Alexandre de Moraes applied a millionaire fine to the application for non-compliance with a decision. The social network failed to comply with a court order to block the channel of federal deputy Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG) and, as a result, the minister established a fine of R$ 1.2 million.

Operation Safe School, created to investigate threats to schools, registered the arrest or apprehension of 302 people suspected of these crimes until this Thursday. In the previous balance sheet, on the 18th, there were 225. The current number means an increase of 77 arrests or apprehensions of minors in two days.

The operations were possible, in general, as a result of the monitoring of social networks. This work resulted in the removal or preservation of content for investigation of 812 profiles on social networks identified as threats to schools.

Monitoring the networks allowed for 270 searches and seizures, which led to the collection of neo-Nazi-inspired weapons and materials, for example.

In the operation, 2,593 police reports were also recorded and 1,062 were taken to the police stations to provide clarifications since the last 5th. [da operação] continues strong and has no end date”, according to the minister.