Telegram is banned in Brazil yet again, and it might leave the Latin American country soon, according to the founder of the messaging app, Pavel Durov.
The Telegram founder issued such remarks in response to a new local court order, which bans the privacy-focused platform in the entire Brazilian country for the second time.
Telegram Might Leave Brazil Amid New Court Ban
According to 9to5 Mac, the end-to-end encrypted messaging service may be on the verge of Brazil in response to a recent court ban, no less than the Telegram founder says. The ban, imposed by a Brazilian judge earlier this week, has left the future of the privacy-focused app in the country in doubt.
Durov suggested that the company may have no choice but to leave Brazil altogether. The Telegram founder issued his statement on his channel. He notes that in instances wherein the laws or regulations conflict with their mission, they may have to exit certain markets.
The founder points out that countries, such as Russia, Iran, and China, have previously banned Telegram as the service attempts to uphold its stand on safeguarding the human rights of its users.
Durov says that as much as it is unfortunate for him, leaving Brazil will still be "preferable to the betrayal of our users and the beliefs we were founded on."
The founder and CEO of Telegram are now raising the potential move of leaving the country if ever the laws of Brazil continue to go against the belief of the messaging app.
9to5 Mac notes that users in Brazil may no longer access Telegram following the new court order. If ever they really want to do so, they need to use tools like VPNs or proxy servers.
Why Did Brazil Ban Telegram Again?
As per the Associated Press News, the Brazilian federal judge temporarily suspended the operations of Telegram in the country following an inquiry into school attacks.
Authorities in Brazil were investigating the existence of neo-Nazi groups in the end-to-end encrypted service. The court ordered Telegram to provide the complete data of the users in the anti-semitic group chats.
The New York Times reports that the tech firm told the police that they could no longer retrieve the data of the neo-Nazi group chats. Telegram explains that users have already deleted the said group chats on the platform. And with that, the messaging service told the authorities that retrieving the information is already impossible.
Durov further adds in his recent statement that the request of the local court is "technologically impossible."
And as such, the local court has already banned Telegram in the country, which also requires Google Play Store and Apple App Store to kick out the messaging app.