Brazil's Supreme Court fines Telegram for non-compliance with court order

This is not the first time when Telegram has been fined in Brazil.

The Brazilian Supreme Court has imposed a fine of 1.2 million reais ($236,527) on popular messaging app Telegram for failing to comply with a court order. The decision, made by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, came as a result of an inquiry investigating acts of vandalism in public buildings in the country's capital earlier this month.

The court had ordered Telegram to block five different accounts that had shared content related to hate speech and encouragement of institutional disruption. However, Telegram did not block an account owned by congressman-elect Nikolas Ferreira, who was Brazil's most voted congressman in the 2022 election, reaching 1.47 million votes.

The ruling stated that "The malicious non-compliance by the providers involved indicates, objectively, consent with the continued perpetration of the crimes under investigation." Telegram has been given five days to pay the fine.

This is not the first time Telegram has faced legal action from the Brazilian government, in March 2022, Justice Moraes ordered the suspension of messaging app Telegram, citing repeated refusal to adhere to judicial orders to freeze accounts spreading disinformation. But the suspension was revoked days later after the company complied with court requests.