Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

COVID-19 RULES

Block Telegram to prevent ‘Covid terrorism’, demands Bavarian leader

Bavarian leader Markus Söder has called on the German government to "shut down" the messenger service Telegram in order to stop the emergence of "Covid terrorists."

Published: 19 February 2022 14:44 CET
Block Telegram to prevent 'Covid terrorism', demands Bavarian leader
The Telegram app on a smartphone. Photo: dpa | Fabian Sommer

Söder said that Germany could make Telegram inaccessible via geo-blocking, a method of making some online services unavailable in specific regions.

“In other parts of the world, Telegram may be a channel for democracy. In our country, it’s a channel for insecurity and fake news,” he said.

Claiming that Telegram was “by some distance” the platform moist used to spread hate, he expressed the concern that it could be used to form violent resistance groups against lockdown measures.

“We can’t allow for the formation of a ‘Covid RAF’ for who violence is acceptable,” he said referring to the Red Army Faction, a left-wing cell that terrorised Germany in the 1970s.

“Closed groups of conspiracy theorists are emerging on platforms like Telegram. Whenever more absurd fake news is sold there as truths, there is a danger that individuals will develop a supposed moral right of resistance from it.”

The German government has been putting pressure on Telegram to close down channels that spread conspiracy theories or where unregistered protests against Covid rules are organised.

Last week, the company shut down over 60 such channels, including one belonging to the vegan chef Attila Hildmann, who has gained notoriety for his extremist views during the pandemic.

“Telegram must no longer be an accelerant for right-wing extremists, conspiracy theorists and other agitators. Death threats and other dangerous messages of hate must be deleted and have legal consequences,” interior minister Nancy Faeser said last week in comments made to the Süddeutsche Zeitung.

Member comments

  1. A couple of years ago Russia had tried to block Telegram. First days it led to almost full outage of AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud in the country, they were completely unaccessible. Telegram kept working. And in Russia those blocking mechanisms are in development for a decade at least. I’m really concerned Germany would succeed without causing major damage to innocent users and businesses.

  2. Who gets to decide whats dangerous? What is hate really?
    No speach should be sensored. No matter how vulgar.
    Calls for someone’s death or harm to be brought against a person, or a group. This is illegal and should be punished, as is the law.

    By banning fringe groups you give them legitimacy in a sense. Especially around covid times. Where they talk of government censorship. They are just standing there now saying. “See, we told you. “

  3. Söder and his mixed metaphores!
    Agree totally with Flynn.
    Local very peaceful weekly demo against Covid ‘practices and claims’ has been met by aggressive, abusive and ugly pro-covid groups.

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

COVID-19 RULES

Germany to repeal last protective measures against Covid-19

Three years after Germany introduced a series of protective measures against the coronavirus, the last are set to be repealed on Friday.

Published: 6 April 2023 10:42 CEST
Germany to repeal last protective measures against Covid-19

The remaining restrictions – or the requirement to wear a mask in surgeries, clinics and nursing homes – are falling away a couple of days after German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) made an announcement that the Covid-19 pandemic is “over.”

“We have successfully managed the pandemic in Germany,” said Lauterbach at a press conference on Wednesday.

In light of low infection numbers and virus variants deemed to be less dangerous, Germany has been steadily peeling away the last of its longstanding measures. 

READ ALSO: Germany monitoring new Covid variant closely, says Health Minister

The obligation to wear a mask on public transport was lifted on February 2nd. 

During the height of the pandemic between 2020 and 2021, Germany introduced its strictest measures, which saw the closure of public institutions including schools and daycare centres (Kitas).

“The strategy of coping with the crisis had been successful overall,” said Lauterbach, while also admitting: “I don’t believe that the long school closures were entirely necessary.”

Since the first coronavirus cases in Germany were detected in January 2020, there have been over 38 million reported cases of the virus, and 171,272 people who died from or with the virus, according to the Robert Koch Institute. 

Voluntary measures

In surgeries and clinics, mask rules can remain in place on a voluntary basis – which some facilities said they would consider based on their individual situations. 

“Of course, practices can stipulate a further obligation to wear masks as part of their house rules, and likewise everyone can continue to wear a mask voluntarily,” the head of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV), Andreas Gassen, told DPA.

But Gassen said it was good there would no longer be an “automatic obligation”, and that individuals could take the responsibility of protecting themselves and others into their own hands. 

READ ALSO: Is the pandemic over in Germany?

“Hospitals are used to establishing hygiene measures to protect their patients, even independently of the coronavirus,” the head of the German Hospital Association (DKG), Gerald Gaß, told DPA.

With the end of the last statutory Covid measures, he said, we are entering “a new phase” in dealing with this illness. 

“Hospitals will then decide individually according to the respective situation which measures they will take,” he said, for example based on the ages and illnesses of the patients being treated.

SHOW COMMENTS