A 3D printed Telegram logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken January 21, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
SAO PAULO/RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the suspension of messaging app Telegram, following a request from the country’s federal police, local news broadcasters TV Globo and CNN Brasil both reported on Friday.
The decision comes after the messaging app, which is widely used by Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro and his allies, failed to respond to court orders to block certain accounts that had been found to disseminate disinformation, Globo reported.
Brazil’s Supreme Court (STF) did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Anatel, Brazil’s telecoms regulator, said it did not have any information about the issue.
In January, Bolsonaro accused the country’s top electoral authority of “cowardice” for considering a ban of the messaging app amid concerns of its use for spreading “fake news.”
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