On Saturday, internet providers and wireless carriers in Brazil ceased blocking access to Telegram, following a federal judge’s partial revision of a ruling that had suspended the popular social media app.

The suspension had been imposed due to Telegram’s failure to comply with a request for data related to neo-Nazi activity, the Associated Press reported.

While the block on Telegram was lifted, the federal judge maintained a daily fine of $1 million reais (approximately $200,000) as a penalty for the company’s refusal to provide the requested data.

The decision was confirmed in a press statement released by the federal court responsible for the ruling.

Judge Flávio Lucas, as quoted in the statement, expressed that a complete suspension of Telegram was deemed unreasonable due to its widespread impact on the freedom of communication for numerous individuals who were unrelated to the specific investigation at hand.

The temporary suspension of Telegram had initially been enacted as part of a police inquiry following a tragic incident in November, as reported by the AP.

During that time, a former student armed with a semiautomatic pistol and wearing a bulletproof vest had entered two schools in the small town of Aracruz in Espirito Santo state, resulting in the fatal shooting of three people and the injury of 13 others.

With the lifting of the block on Telegram, access to the social media app has been restored in Brazil, although the company continues to face penalties for its refusal to surrender the requested data.

Written by staff