Belgium’s electronic communications regulator, BIPT, will be in charge of supervising the messaging app Telegram for the whole of Europe, according to local media reports.
The EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) forces social media platforms that operate in Europe to nominate a company to act as its local representative. The Dubai-based app chose a Belgian firm, the European Digital Services Representative (EDSR) to represent it. Therefore, Telegram falls under the regulatory purview of the BIPT, which will require the app to comply with Belgian laws on data protection and hate speech.
Telegram is a cloud-based service founded by the Russia-born Pavel Durov in 2013 which surged in popularity during the COVID lockdown. It has been used by free speech and pro-democracy activists, especially in Russia and Iran, where its encryption helps people communicate without government interference.
However, some European governments have accused it of facilitating crime and “hate speech.” It has already earned the ire of Belgian authorities due to its use by renegade soldier Jürgen Conings, who in 2021 was the subject of a manhunt after threatening to attack health officials.
Mathias Vermeulen from the data rights firm AWO explained how the regulation will work: “Suppose someone in the Netherlands is in a Telegram channel that calls for violence against a synagogue or mosque, and sends a report to Telegram but finds that nothing is done about it, he or she can file a complaint with BIPT,” he told De Standaard. The Belgian regulator can then impose a penalty if the app does not comply.
BIPT’s regulatory control will begin “in a couple of weeks” according to Belgian authorities.
Telegram has already issued guidelines on how users can comply with the DSA, even referring to an automatic bot where users can report content and inquire as to its legality under European law.
However, Vermeulen said Belgian regulators face a monumental challenge in regulating the platform, which has an estimated user base of 900 million people. “Telegram is the platform that collaborates the least with governments,” he said.
German MPs called for Telegram to be banned outright in 2022, accusing it of facilitating “hate speech.” Meanwhile, experts have objected to a recent European Commission proposal for the app to install detecting software to combat the dissemination of child pornography. They said the move would be “disproportionate and a threat to the security and privacy of communications.”
