Telegram is now banned in Spain

Telegram, the messaging giant, has been banned in Spain in a case investigating the hosting of unauthorized content owned by media companies in Spain. The Audiencia Nacional, one of the highest courts in Spain, has approved this ban until Telegram cooperates by sending the required information to the court.

Telegram faces challenges in Spain

The Audiencia Nacional, one of the country’s highest courts, has imposed a temporary ban on the messaging app due to its involvement in a case involving the hosting of unauthorized content.

The country’s major media companies, including Mediaset, Atresmedia, Movistar and Egeda, claim that Telegram is used to host and distribute unauthorized content that violates national copyright laws.

Judge Santiago Pedraz, in charge of the case, needs specific information from Telegram to continue the investigation. Despite repeated requests from the judge, the company has not responded, leading to the issuance of a temporary ban until the company cooperates with the investigation.

Banned from March 25

The ban on Telegram was initially set to take effect on Monday (March 25), but some service providers have already started blocking access to the app over the weekend to comply with the order. While no specific expiration date has been set for the ban, legal sources have indicated that it may only be temporary and could only last a few days.

The impact of this measure is felt by 8 million users in Spain, corresponding to 18% of the total population. Some of them have expressed their dissatisfaction with this decision on social media and have promised to find alternative methods to continue accessing the platform despite the imposed ban.

This is not the first time that Telegram has faced such measures. In April, the app was temporarily banned in Brazil due to its lack of cooperation in a national campaign against school violence. Also in 2018, access bans were imposed by Russian courts after Telegram refused to provide the necessary keys to decipher users’ messages as part of an investigation into international terrorist groups.