UPDATE on Telegram ban in Spain

SPAIN’s National Court ordered the ban of the country’s fourth most-used messaging service, Telegram, on March 22.

FACUA (an NGO for the defence of consumer rights) released a statement that Telegram will be banned approximately as of March 23: “in the upcoming hours or days.” However, on March 25, the Judge Santiago Pedraz, postponed the suspension, extending the investigation period until September 29.

The Court made the decision based on copyright infringement claims from the companies including Mediaset, Atresmedia and Movistar Plus. The businesses declared that Telegram was granting users to upload content without permission.

In the case of the ban, Spain would join North Korea, China, Iran, and Pakistan, as one of the countries where Telegram use is prohibited.

However, due to the popularity of the application and protests from organisations including FACUA (a consumer advocacy group), Telegram is still available to the users in Spain.

FACUA´s general secretary, Ruben Sanchez, stated that the ban would cause “enormous harm” to millions of users.

The Judge has now released a statement, admitting that banning Telegram completely would be “an excessive and disproportionate measure.”