German interior minister Nancy Faeser has accused Apple and Google of being “socially irresponsible” for failing to censor privacy-based messaging app Telegram from their app stores.
“We remind Apple and Google of their social responsibility,” Faesar tweeted.
“As long as they offer apps like #Telegram in their stores, they are also fuel the fire of rightwing extremism and conspiracy theories. No place for hate and calls for murder!”
Wir erinnern #Apple und #Google an ihre gesellschaftliche Verantwortung. Solange sie Apps wie #Telegram in ihren Stores anbieten, sind sie auch eine Form von Brandbeschleuniger für #Rechtsextremismus und #Verschwörungstheorien. Kein Platz für #Hass und #Mordaufrufe!
— Nancy Faeser (@NancyFaeser) January 19, 2022
Telegram, which was founded by Russian mathematicians and programmers Nikolai and Pavel Durov, has gained popularity across Europe in recent years as a privacy-based alternative to WhatsApp.
WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, has been the subject of controversy as regards user data and privacy, with the Irish data protection watchdog issuing the company with a €225m fine last year – the second largest GDPR fine in history.
WhatsApp privacy policy tweaked in Europe after record fine https://t.co/I4j7emOBg6
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) November 22, 2021
As a result of such controversies, many groups across Europe – particularly those opposed to governments’ Covid responses – have flocked to Telegram as a messaging alternative. Many anti-lockdown and anti-vaccine mandate groups have sprung up across the continent, including in Germany.
"On Tuesday, Telegram said it added more than 25 million users… Signal added nearly 1.3 million users on Monday alone, after averaging just 50,000 downloads a day last year…" https://t.co/e5JNln14Wg
— Nick Schifrin (@nickschifrin) January 14, 2021
The app is now estimated to have an average of 50 million daily users worldwide.
The German government has taken aim at Telegram in recent years, with the German authorities attempting to fine the app for failing to police users’ speech.
German authorities have launched proceedings against Telegram that could see the messenger app’s operators fined for failing to abide by laws. https://t.co/fOgd3vkxrZ
— euronews (@euronews) June 15, 2021
German politicians have threatened to outright ban the app unless it agrees to police posts and channels which the government deems to be “extremist content.”
Reuters: "Politician says Germany should ban Telegram unless it tackles extremist content" https://t.co/MFHPFo8UJ1
— Evan Kohlmann (@IntelTweet) December 14, 2021
Telegram’s founders previously said that in October “we welcomed over 70 million refugees from other platforms in one day.”
“We won’t fail you when others will,” they said.