The encrypted messaging Telegram, in the crosshairs of the German government

From spreading plot theories to death threats: encrypted messaging Telegram, particularly popular with anti-vaccine movements, is in the crosshairs of German authorities, who accuse it of being passive in spreading hate speech.

Those who oppose vaccination against COVID-19 They have been mobilizing for several weeks in Germany, where they regularly demonstrate through rallies, sometimes accompanied by incidents with law enforcement.

It is very likely that tensions will reach another level after the compulsory vaccination initiative, supported by Chancellor Olaf Scholz but which clearly divides society, which was presented to the Bundestag (parliament) this Wednesday afternoon.

In this context, “hate spreaders” are targeted by the government and in particular the encrypted messaging Telegram.

“Our legislation is also applicable to Telegram”, under penalty of millionaire fines, warned the Minister of Justice, Marco Buschmann.

For her part, the Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser, wants to present a plan before Easter that forces this digital platform to eliminate hate messages, as well as identify their authors.

Some online “anti-vaccine” discussion groups draw up to 200,000 people, according to an AFP tally.

In the absence of cooperation, Faeser does not rule out a complete ban on this app in Germany.

But before it comes to this, “all options must have been exhausted,” he said, acknowledging that European cooperation is needed on this sensitive issue.

In mid-December, the German Police carried out a raid in Dresden (west), where they seized weapons after the dissemination of death threats against the Minister-President of the Land, captured in a Telegram group.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has since vowed to lead a relentless fight against a “minority of extremists.”

“Freethinkers”

Germany enacted a controversial law in 2017 that reinforces its arsenal against threats launched on the Internet, requiring social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, to remove criminal content and report it to the police for possible indictments.

Thus, Facebook announced in September the elimination of several accounts, pages and groups linked to the group of “free thinkers” in Germany, hostile to the measures to combat COVID-19.

“As a consequence of the fact that the big platforms no longer allow racist, anti-Semitist or extreme right-wing hate content, such as Holocaust denial, those who spread it are looking for new tools. And, currently, the most popular in Germany is Telegram”, says Simone Rafael, digital manager at the ‘Amadeu Antonio’ ​​Foundation for the fight against racism.

While Facebook collaborates with the authorities while respecting the law, Telegram is not the case, according to this researcher, who points out that most of its users are not linked to anti-vaccine movements.

Numerous requests from the Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany (BKA) of content removal on this platform have been left in limbo.

There is also the possibility of requiring Google or Apple to remove it from their download lists. But, this would not affect those users who already have the application.

For Rafael, the only way to overcome the hurdles is to completely ban it in Germany.

Thus, it would become the first country in the West to take such a radical measure against this messaging service, created in 2013 by the brothers Nikolai and Pavel Durov, two opponents of the Kremlin, whose objective was to avoid being controlled by the secret services of his country.

There are already bans and regulations affecting Telegram, in China, India and Russia.