A few weeks ago, we were surprised by the news that National Court judge Santiago Pedraz had ordered the suspension of the messaging app Telegram.
Just two days later, he surprised us again with the three-hour ultimatum he gave telecommunications operators to block Telegram’s operations in Spain.
And with a new twist, a few days later, the same judge requested a report from the General Police Information Commission to “explain” the impact and scope of the measure he had taken, since he admitted he did not know exactly how the platform worked.
Just a few hours later, the judge published a new ruling definitively suspending his initial decision to block Telegram.
As Carles Porta would say, we’re going to try to shed some light on the darkness regarding what’s happening with Telegram.
The background of Telegram
Talking about Telegram is talking about Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolai, two Russians who created the instant messaging platform Telegram in 2013.
But this is not her first social network.
In 2006, they created the VK (Kontakte) app at the University of St. Petersburg, and its design and functionality were very reminiscent of Facebook. This platform was so successful that it became the most important social network in Russia and Belarus.
Everything was going well until the Russian government began to focus on the social network and saw the potential for obtaining data on political leaders opposed to the regime or Ukrainian users.
Their refusal to give in to Putin’s demands led the two brothers to lose their social network and go into exile in Dubai, where they launched another social network, Telegram, in 2013.
Kontakte currently has 270 million users and is one of the leading social networks in Russia.
Telegram Features
Telegram currently has 900 million users worldwide, and around 8 million in Spain, representing 18% of the population.
Compared to WhatsApp, this app is far behind, with 2 billion users worldwide and just over 38 million in Spain.
Compared to WhatsApp, Telegram is a platform with many more tools and features, many of which have been copied by Meta’s app over the years.
But if there’s one feature that sets Telegram apart from other messaging platforms, it’s undoubtedly its commitment to privacy.
Thus, we can find private groups in which messages are not previewed until the guest enters, and they can even carry a geolocation tag with a range of between 100 meters and 6 kilometers, meaning that only people within the established coordinates can access the group.
It also has secret chats, which differ from conventional chats in that messages are encrypted from device to device. What does this mean? Only the sender and recipient can read the message.
Additionally, messages cannot be forwarded or re-downloaded, messages cannot be self-destructed, and screenshots cannot be taken. The other user must accept the invitation using an app that supports Secret Chats.
This app also offers unlimited broadcast channels, allows you to mask your personal information, and eliminates the need to provide a phone number to have a Telegram profile, as you can change it to a username.
Dark messaging
All these measures to ensure the privacy of conversations between users gradually led to a communication space ideal for all sorts of criminal activities.
Just as we encounter the “dark web,” we could talk about Telegram as “dark messaging.”
On this platform, we can find everything from drug dealing, weapons, piracy of any kind (music, movies, books, software, etc.), to pornography. It also serves as a communication tool for organized gangs or terrorist groups.
If you’re interested in this topic, I recommend watching the Netflix documentary “Cyberhell: The Investigation That Uncovered the Horror.”
This is the case of 25-year-old Korean Cho Joo-bin, who managed groups on Telegram that sexually blackmailed women. Users paid up to $1,200, depending on the type of harassment they wanted the women to be subjected to, a total of 76.
Another case involved hundreds of people in the United States and the United Kingdom who paid Indonesians to torture and kill macaques, all through a Telegram group. Or the “The Magi” group, which included 11,000 men and in which nude photos of women were exchanged without their consent.
Telegram bans
All of this has led countries like China, Cuba, Iran, Pakistan, and Thailand to ban Telegram from operating in their respective countries. It’s true that these countries aren’t exactly beacons of freedom.
We also have the case of Brazil, which blocked the app for a time for spreading neo-Nazi and anti-Semitic content, or Germany, which fined Telegram €5 million in 2022 for failing to combat piracy.
And it is at this point that we meet Judge Pedraz.
The non-blocking of Telegram in Spain
The measure Judge Santiago Pedraz sought to take was based on a complaint filed by Mediaset, Atresmedia, and Movistar Plus for alleged unauthorized use of audiovisual content subject to copyright.
The existence of illegal piracy on Telegram is known, as are other crimes, and something that must undoubtedly be combated, but the measure the judge wanted to take was disproportionate and ineffective.
Disproportionate in that you can’t block a service that, while a breeding ground for criminal activity, also serves businesses, institutions, and individuals in a positive and constructive way.
And on the other hand, it would have been an ineffective measure since it was as simple as using a VPN that allows us to hide the device’s real location in order to reconnect to Telegram.
_________________________________
Discover how to boost your career in public administration
The world of public administration can be both exciting and challenging. To help you reach your full potential and have a greater impact, here are a number of resources that will be helpful.
- 📋 Guide to developing a communication plan in public administration: Do you need to boost communication in your city council or public administration? The “Guide to developing a communication plan in public administration” is your perfect ally. Discover effective strategies to convey your messages clearly and effectively.
- 🚀 Personal Branding in Public Administration: Do you want to stand out in your career? The “Personal Branding in Public Administration” program will teach you how to build your own brand and create new professional opportunities. Boost your presence and leave a lasting impression.
- 📩 Weekly newsletter with all the latest news on social media and communications: Stay up to date with the latest trends in digital marketing, social media, and communications by subscribing to the Social Media and Communications Newsletter. Fresh and relevant information straight to your inbox.
- 🎙️ Descubre las entrevistas de #30minutos en la administración pública: ¿Quieres conocer las voces destacadas en la administración pública? No te pierdas el espacio de entrevistas #30minutos. Obtén información sobre los líderes de hoy y las ideas que están impulsando el cambio. ¡Tú podrías ser el próximo protagonista! Más de 80 personas ya han pasado por #30minutos aprovecha para descubrirlas. Puedes descubrirlas en vídeo en los canales de YouTube y Twitch; y en formato podcast en Ivoox, Apple podcast, Spotify y Google Podcast.
- 📱 WhatsApp Channel. I’ve opened a WhatsApp channel where I publish blog posts and also share information about conferences, events, tips, books, and news related to social media, digital communication, artificial intelligence, and public administration.
I also invite you to follow me on these other channels:
📺 YouTube 🎮 Twitch 📱 Tik Tok 📨 Telegram 🐦 Twitter 📷 Instagram 💼 LinkedIn 📌 Pinterest 📘 Facebook 🎧 Podcasts en Ivoox, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts 🌐 Novagob
