Spain’s Supreme Court has suspended its own order to block Telegram, asking the police to report on how temporarily banning the app would affect its users.
Investigation and Suspension
On Friday, Judge Santiago Pedraz ordered Telegram to be suspended in Spain while it investigates claims by several media companies that the app allows their content to be distributed without permission. The decree was supposed to come into force today, but the judge decided to stop its implementation and ordered the national police to prepare a report on “how the temporary blocking of the service will affect Telegram users,” notes NIXsolutions.
International Cooperation and Reaction
During the investigation, Pedras asked officials in the Virgin Islands, where Telegram founded by Pavel Durov was registered, for information about users suspected of illegally distributing protected content, but did not receive a response.
The Spanish Consumer Association (FACUA) said it was “pleased by the authorities’ decision to carefully consider their actions and the scale of possible consequences” and hoped the police report would prompt the judge to overturn the order. We’ll keep you updated on further developments.