Following mounting fears that Telegram is becoming a “means for radicalization,” a top German security official announced on Wednesday that his agency has formed a task force to investigate individuals suspected of using the messaging app to conduct crimes.
The Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany has issued a warning that the app is being used to attack politicians, scientists and doctors because of their role in combating the coronavirus pandemic.
“The coronavirus pandemic, in particular, has contributed to people becoming radicalised on Telegram, threatening others, and even publishing calls to kill,” said Holger Muench, the agency’s chief.
He stated that the task force would seek Telegram’s assistance, but that if it did not, the task force would take action.
The German government has sought unsuccessfully for years to get Telegram to follow the country’s standards on removing unlawful information.
The app’s creators are based in the United Arab Emirates, and the app claims to have hundreds of millions of users globally.
Following media claims that a group of individuals on Telegram had discussed plots to kill the state’s governor, Michael Kretschmer, and other members of the state administration, German police raided Saxony last month. The members of the group were united in their opposition to vaccinations, as well as the state and federal government’s coronavirus policy.
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