Germany slaps messaging app Telegram with $5 million fine

Published October 17, 2022 6:53 AM

BERLIN (AP) — Germany has announced that it is issuing fines of 5.125 million euros ($5 million) against the operators of the messagging app Telegram for failing to comply with German law. The Federal Office of Justice said Monday that Telegram FZ-LLC hasn’t established a lawful way for reporting illegal content or named an entity in Germany to receive official communication. Both are required under German laws that regulate large online platforms. German officials said they have repeatedly failed in their attempts to serve papers to Dubai-based Telegram despite support from authorities in the United Arab Emirates. German federal police warned earlier this year that the app is becoming a “medium for radicalization.”