"Brazil: Telegram messaging app blocked by top court", 19 March 2022

...A Supreme Court judge in Brazil ordered the suspension of messaging app Telegram, in a ruling published Friday on the court's website.

Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the company had repeatedly refused to comply with rulings and requests from police and the justice system to help fight disinformation in the run-up to the elections...

He gave Brazil's telecoms regulator 24 hours to suspend Telegram's operations nationwide.

The ruling came from a case over an earlier court order, where Telegram ignored to block the account of pro-Bolsonaro blogger Allan dos Santos. Moraes said the messaging app had also refused to comply with several other orders, including cases of child sexual abuse imagery.

The ruling is a major blow to far-right President Jair Bolsonaro who is seeking reelection in October and has more than a million followers on Telegram, alongside numerous fan groups...

Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov apologized for the company's "negligence" over the disinformation allegations. In an Instagram post, he blamed a "miscommunication" problem. Durov asked the court to delay its ruling for a few days as it sought to improve compliance.

The court ruling, however, said Telegram's behavior had underlined its "total contempt for the Brazilian justice system."

Court chief Luis Roberto Barroso wrote to Telegram in December requesting a meeting and warning that the app was rife with "conspiracy theories and false information about (Brazil's) electoral system"...