The police have closed two Telegram channels in which politicians and administrators were threatened and conspiracy theories were shared. It concerns the groups The Batavian Republic and Batavian News. Followers now see a banner stating that the group has been taken offline 'to terminate any criminal offences committed and to prevent any new criminal offences being committed'.
In the group, threatening, inflammatory and defamatory videos were shared, aimed particularly at administrators and politicians, reports Dutch broadcaster NOS. A number of the group's administrators have already been detained for, among other things, threats, slander and libel.
Frederik Zuiderveen Borgesius, professor of ICT and law at Radboud University, finds the action 'unusual but not shocking'. He says that the content of the groups is probably also against Telegram's rules and that removing groups in which there is a threat or serious defamation can be very reasonable. He also notes that the administrators themselves can take legal action if they disagree with the blockade.
Telegram is an app which is widely used worldwide, it passed the milestone of one billion downloads on Friday 27 August. However, the chat app is not entirely uncontroversial. In July, KPN Security warned that Telegram is a 'low-threshold alternative to the dark web'. According to KPN, users can gain access to 'very shocking and traumatic visual material' with one click of a button. Illegally obtained data, such as the data theft from the GGD or the hacking of Mobile Vikings, is also often sold via Telegram.
In the group, threatening, inflammatory and defamatory videos were shared, aimed particularly at administrators and politicians, reports Dutch broadcaster NOS. A number of the group's administrators have already been detained for, among other things, threats, slander and libel.
Frederik Zuiderveen Borgesius, professor of ICT and law at Radboud University, finds the action 'unusual but not shocking'. He says that the content of the groups is probably also against Telegram's rules and that removing groups in which there is a threat or serious defamation can be very reasonable. He also notes that the administrators themselves can take legal action if they disagree with the blockade.
Telegram is an app which is widely used worldwide, it passed the milestone of one billion downloads on Friday 27 August. However, the chat app is not entirely uncontroversial. In July, KPN Security warned that Telegram is a 'low-threshold alternative to the dark web'. According to KPN, users can gain access to 'very shocking and traumatic visual material' with one click of a button. Illegally obtained data, such as the data theft from the GGD or the hacking of Mobile Vikings, is also often sold via Telegram.
