The temporary banning of Telegram in Brazil, after failing to comply with a court order, led users of the messaging application to look for virtual private networks and VPNs. Google searches for both the app and the network rose together, according to Surfshark.
The terms “Telegram” and “VPN” appeared in Google Trends. They began to stand out even before the suspension of the messenger, with the volume skyrocketing after the announcement of the ban by the Brazilian justice.
- Telegram is suspended in Brazil after a court order
VPN search volumes were up nearly fourfold compared to the seven-day average. The search for Telegram increased more than five times. Check out the chart:
After 6 pm on Wednesday (26), searches for “Telegram” and “VPN” skyrocketed, with an increase of 420% and 260%, respectively. Source: Surfshark
What happened to Telegram?
The suspension of Telegram in Brazil was determined by Judge Wellington Lopes da Silva, from the Federal Court of Espírito Santo, this Wednesday (26). The company failed to provide information about members of neo-Nazi groups, until 7 pm yesterday, with a fine of R$ 1 million per day of delay, and “only partially complied with the court order”.
The Federal Police asked for data on the participants and administrators of two Telegram groups with anti-Semitic content. A 16-year-old teenager, a member of the forums, murdered four people in an attack on two schools, in Aracruz (ES), in November 2022.
“By failing to comply with the court order, it limited itself to denying the provision of the requested data under the general allegation that ‘the group [with anti-Semitic content] has already been deleted.’ it was ordered by the court (…) sanctions are imposed”, said the judge, in an order.
This is not the first suspension of the messenger in Brazil. A year ago, the Minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Alexandre de Moraes, ordered the banning of Telegram for failing to take measures to combat the spread of false information.TecMundo discount coupons: