There is no shortage of goodwill in politics: the new federal government is completely in agreement that the telegram messenger service needs to be regulated better.

Every day, a number of calls for violence to resist corona measures are published there, and the trade in forged vaccination passports is flourishing.

Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) protested at the weekend, now the new Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) left no doubt: "We have to act more resolutely against agitation, violence and hatred on the Internet."

Corinna Budras

Business correspondent in Berlin.

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Gustav Theile

Editor in business.

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But the more precisely you ask about possible measures, the clearer it becomes: The Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG) ​​may be one of the strictest regulations against hateful messages on the Internet - the authorities in this country are currently largely powerless against a service like Telegram.

It starts with the dispute as to whether Telegram can even be included under the set of rules, after all, it is about the regulation of social networks such as Facebook, Youtube or TikTok, where lies, hatred and agitation can be found at lightning speed under the eyes of the global public can spread.

For a long time, the Federal Office of Justice took the position that the company, as a chat platform, was essentially intended for direct exchange and that it was not profit-oriented.

Therefore the NetzDG is not relevant at all.

But on Monday a spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of Justice made it clear: Telegram fulfills different functions.

In addition to the messenger service, it also offers public channels and chat groups, which sometimes consist of hundreds of thousands of participants.

Out of reach in Dubai

However, the company's headquarters in Dubai causes much greater difficulties, as it allows the company's founders to hide behind an organized irresponsibility. If one wants to force Telegram according to the NetzDG to delete individual content or entire channels, it fails because the hearing letters required for this cannot be delivered at all. The procedure is cumbersome: First of all, a request for mutual legal assistance must be submitted to the United Arab Emirates. This happened in May 2021, reports the spokeswoman for the Federal Minister of Justice. When asked whether these letters were actually delivered, she can only shrug her shoulders.

Telegram was founded in 2013 by Pavel Durov together with his brother Nikolai. The two had previously gotten rich with the social network VKontakte, which is very popular in Russia. Durow is considered a kind of Russian Mark Zuckerberg and is known for his libertarian attitude. He financed the service himself for a long time. But now the company is trying to make money with advertisements. According to the company, more than 500 million people use the service.

Telegram makes it clear on its website that it is very reluctant to delete content. One must follow up “legitimate inquiries” about public content in order to be able to create a “secure, global means of communication”. But that does not mean that local restrictions on freedom of speech should be bowed to. "If, for example, criticism of the government is prohibited in a country, Telegram is by no means part of such politically motivated censorship," affirmed the service. That violates the principles of the founders. You block terrorist content, writes Telegram, but don't prevent users from "expressing alternative opinions in a peaceful manner". The Federal Criminal Police Office also confirmed on request that the prosecution of criminal offenses on platforms such as Telegram was "fundamentally difficult".Telegram largely fails to comply with “suggestions” for deleting right-wing extremist content.

Attila Hildmann blocked

However, that does not mean that nothing happens - and that is also quite surprising: the channels of the vegan chef Attila Hildmann, who has become a leading figure in the “lateral thinker” movement and who is being investigated for incitement to hatred, have been around for a few months, for example blocked in the Telegram app.

It is believed that the operators of the two large app stores, Google and Apple, pushed this through.

There is no confirmation for this, just a note: The Hildmann channels can still be accessed via the desktop version.

In principle, Telegram cannot be reached for inquiries.

There is no legal notice on the website.

Journalists are supposed to turn to a chatbot on Telegram.

He assures that the request has been forwarded to the press team.

There is no further feedback.

The Saxon Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer, who initiated the current debate, does not want to accept this collective helplessness: "It can no longer be acceptable for the Telegram operators in Dubai to sit idly by as death threats are spread in their network," he said FAZ “If you want to offer your services on the German market, you have to take action against this agitation.

Otherwise the European Union, the federal government, Apple and the Android manufacturer Alphabet must intervene. "