London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 08, 2025

EU country threatens to block Telegram

EU country threatens to block Telegram

Berlin says it could pull the plug on the popular messaging service unless it complies with the German law on banned content
Germany’s minister of interior has made it clear Berlin is dead serious about making Telegram abide by the country’s laws. Unless the popular messaging app deletes illegal content, Berlin is prepared to block it in the country.

In an interview with Die Zeit weekly newspaper, Nancy Faeser said the German government could not “rule out per se” blocking Telegram in the country. The official hastened to qualify her threat, adding that such a scenario would be “very grave and clearly a last resort,” and would be implemented only after all the other options had been exhausted.

Faeser also lamented the fact that all attempts at communicating with Telegram on the part of Germany's Federal Ministry of Justice have been of little avail thus far.

The interior minister pointed out that extremists were spreading hatred and plotting attacks with the help of the app, with Telegram adopting a laissez-faire approach toward such activities – something the German government hopes to change.

The country’s Network Enforcement Act obliges social media platforms to swiftly remove illegal content after receiving an official complaint. Faeser stressed that Telegram must also abide by the legislation, and described bringing the messenger to heel as “one of the most important points.”

The German government wants a common European approach toward Telegram and similar services. The minister explained that “today Telegram is operating out of Dubai, tomorrow perhaps out of the Cayman Islands,” hence Germany will “need a lot of strength to enforce the law.” She said “Germany alone will not make it,” with Berlin already engaged in consultations with other European nations.

Back in December of last year, German police detained a group of people in the city of Dresden who authorities say had been plotting the murder of Saxony’s minister-president, Michael Kretschmer. The suspects are said to have made extensive use of Telegram, sharing in their group chat, among other things, instructions on how to make explosives. According to reports in German media, a US neo-Nazi group was also involved in the planning of the attack.

The story brought the use of Telegram by extremist groups to the fore, with German officials zeroing in on the messaging service.

This is not the first time Telegram has found itself in hot water with governments over its reluctance to cooperate. In fact, back in 2018 the service was banned in Russia after its founder, Pavel Durov, refused to grant Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) access to encryption keys so it could monitor criminal activity, as required by the Russian data protection law. Yet, after two years, authorities eventually lifted the ban, which had proved hard to enforce effectively, as users easily circumvented government-imposed hurdles with the help of VPN services. To date, Telegram ranks among the most popular messaging apps in Russia.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
×