Brazil court lifts Telegram ban despite neo-Nazi activity on the app

Brazil's second instance appeals court lifted on Saturday the suspension of the encrypted messaging app Telegram, imposed earlier this week for its noncompliance in sharing information about extremist and neo-Nazi groups using the platform.

Flávio Lucas, a judge from Brazil's Federal Regional Court of the 2nd Region, stated in his decision that a complete suspension of Telegram's service in the country "is not reasonable" due to its impact on the freedom of communication for thousands of people unrelated to the ongoing investigation.

However, the judge upheld the imposition of a daily fine of one million reais ($200,553) on the company for failing to provide the requested data.

The federal police requested the suspension order after Telegram failed to comply with a previous court decision to handover data about two neo-Nazi groups on the app accused of inciting violence in schools.

Telegram brands itself as a messaging app focused on speed and privacy and says its special secret chats use end-to-end encryption not stored on its servers.

Telegram did not immediately respond to a request for comment.