Germany: Justice Minister Demands Europe-Wide Crackdown on T...

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Marco Buschmann

Germany’s minister of justice has spoken in favor of common European action against Telegram over the spread of extremist content on the instant-messaging service.

Speaking to German media, Marco Buschmann argued that a concerted EU-wide effort would “make a bigger impression” on Telegram, as opposed to “each country trying to do that on its own.” The minister, who was sworn in earlier this month, went on to say that it was in Telegram’s own best interest to have uninterrupted access to the European market now that the service has turned to ads in a bid to monetize the platform’s popularity.

Buschmann, however, warned that even if the EU succeeded in bringing Telegram to heel, that alone would not end the problem of hate speech and extremism online, as “radicals will find new ways and platforms.”

The debate over Telegram intensified in Germany earlier this month after several radical anti-vaxxers had been arrested in the city of Dresden over allegedly plotting on the platform to kill the governor of the state of Saxony. Following the police raids, calls were made to start considering Telegram not as a mere messaging service, but rather a social media network, which would oblige the service to abide by stricter rules regarding content deemed extremist or criminal.