The blocking of Telegram in Spain that had been proposed a few days ago by the National Court is suspended until the General Information Commissioner provide a report on the Telegram platform and the consequences of this blockade can be evaluated. Let's see why the blocking of Telegram is suspended.
The National Court suspends the blocking of Telegram
On Friday, March 22, issued the order to block Telegram in Spain by the judge of the National Court, Santiago Pedraz, in response to the complaint by the companies Mediaset España, Atresmedia, EGEDA and Movistar Plus. The reason for this complaint was an alleged copyright infringement by the app.
Well, this decision has been suspended by the same judge just three days later, on Monday, March 25. The reason why the blocking of Telegram is suspended is give time to the General Information Commissioner's Office to prepare a report that studies the use of Telegram in Spain. This is because it is considered that blocking Telegram would affect millions of legitimate users in Spain.
In addition, this report will evaluate the consequences of a block that affects more than 8 million users in Spain. Block an app with these characteristics at all levels could have serious repercussions on freedom of expression and the economy of companies that invoice through the app, among other repercussions.
The LECrim allows blocking Telegram in Spain
It seems that the companies that reported Telegram for alleged copyright infringement are still have not presented sufficient evidence to demonstrate that Telegram is responsible for the illegal content that is shared on the platform. This, together with the possible negative repercussions of blocking the app in Spain, causes the blocking to be suspended. Of course, if it goes ahead, the law would be complied with.
According to Judge Santiago Pedraz, The decision to block Telegram in Spain is based on article 13.2 of the Criminal Procedure Law What do you say like that?
“In the investigation of crimes committed through the Internet, telephone or any other information or communication technology, the court may agree, as first steps, ex officio or at the request of a party, precautionary measures consisting of the withdrawal of illicit content, in the provisional interruption of the services that offer said content or in the provisional blocking of both when they are located abroad.
What solution will this conflict have?
Waiting for the report on Telegram to be prepared by the General Information Commissioner, A collaboration could be established between the Spanish government and Telegram to find some measure that satisfies both parties. On the one hand, Telegram continues to function in Spain and offers a service to users who make legitimate use of the platform. And on the other hand, the alleged content that violates copyright is blocked within the Telegram network.
In the event that an agreement is not reached and Telegram is finally blocked in Spain, users who would like to use the app they would have to hide their IP. But everything indicates that it is possible that a balance can be found between both parties, but it remains to be seen. We will have to wait for the report requested by the National Court to be evaluated to have more information.