Telegram deposits BRL 1.2 million after fine, but asks for revocation – 02/02/2023 – Power

A week after being fined BRL 1.2 million for non-compliance with a decision by Minister Alexandre de Moraes, Telegram informed the STF (Federal Supreme Court) that it deposited the amounts in a judicial account, but asked that the punishment be reviewed.

The messaging application said on Wednesday (1st) that the deposit was made, but expects that the amount will remain in the account until the judgment of an appeal that asks the minister to reconsider his decision “considering the possibility of injury to a difficult right Repair”.

Moraes had imposed the fine because he considered that the platform did not comply with the determination to block the channel of federal deputy Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG) during a period in the month of January.

The Supreme Minister ordered the blocking of Nikolas and other people’s social networks after the coup attacks by supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) on the headquarters of the three Powers, on January 8.

After applying the fine, Telegram told Moraes that it “promptly complied with the determination” and blocked four out of five channels at the minister’s behest, except for Nikolas.

According to the platform, before blocking the parliamentarian’s channel, it was necessary to make a request for clarification because it was the personal network of a federal deputy, created more than two years ago.

The decision that determined the block, said Telegram, had no grounds that could resolve the doubt of what should be suspended: whether the entire channel or just specific content.

“In this sense, the reconsideration/clarification petition was intended to confirm the content of the court order”, stated Telegram’s lawyers in the reconsideration request.

“That is, if the order came incomplete and they would be informed to block specific links to publications with content considered to be illegal due to the potential damage caused by the complete removal of the personal channel, that is, if the purpose of the court order would be to block the entire channel or whether specific publications would be informed.”

Nikolas, 26, was Brazil’s most voted federal deputy in this election, with around 1.5 million votes.

He was one of Bolsonaro’s main supporters in the then president’s re-election campaign last year.

The politician from Minas Gerais declares himself “Christian, conservative and defender of the family” and, in the final stretch of the elections, was obliged by the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) to publish the right of reply of the then candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) after the dissemination of false information about the PT.

In a decision released on the 26th, Moraes decided to reactivate Nikolas’ networks.

On his channel, with more than 306,000 subscribers, the deputy thanked Telegram for “fighting against censorship”.

“The only ‘social network’ I can still communicate with. They literally want to disappear from the internet. Surreal”, he said.

Last November, Moraes also ordered the blocking of the account of Nikolas and other parliamentarians, in a TSE decision. The minister is also president of the court.

Moraes released the accounts the following month. They shared videos from an Argentine channel with false information about the counting of electronic ballot boxes.

Nikolas Ferreira criticized the restriction and classified the fine as a virtual ankle bracelet.