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German minister asks Google and Apple to remove Telegram from app stores

alpenbazi 5y ago
Luckily German ministers dont have any clue about the mysterious new thing called "the internet"
- viraptor 5y ago
  That's not a great take. Not only do they understand the internet and the request seems to be formulated in a way it can be restricted to Germany, they also know the same pressure worked in other cases. For example Twitter knows which of their users are Nazi sympathisers - they're currently marked as such so that they're not displayed in Germany where it's illegal. In other countries it seems it's more profitable to accept them...
dang 5y ago
Past related thread: Germany doesn't rule out closing Telegram – interior minister - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29905293 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29905293 - Jan 2022 (181 comments) --- Also: We have the deepest respect for the German language, but HN is an English language site and posts here need to be in English. It's hard enough to get people to read the articles even when they are. https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=by%3Adang%20english-language%20site&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...
6H3xQqa59LTN6uu 5y ago
berndi 5y ago
Free speech is not really a thing in Germany (e.g., until very recently, insulting foreign heads of state was a criminal offence). Our ruling class absolutely resents the fact that the German people may have a channel for at least somewhat uncensored communication. Unfortunately, we don’t have a first amendment that would put some restrictions on their lust for control and power.
tomjen3 5y ago
Why all this hate on Telegram, when it is not even guaranteed to be e2e? Is Signal already banned?
- Arnt 5y ago
  This isn't about encryption at all, it's about a function that Signal doesn't have: Public and searchable groups. A Signal group is private to the members, always and by design. You can only join by knowing someone in the group, and only read the messages by being in the group. Telegram has groups that you can find by searching, and that you can join and read without knowing anyone else in the group. That kind of group is central to several of the big problems in German society at the moment.
  - josephcsible 5y ago
    > several of the big problems in German society at the moment Can you elaborate on this?
    - Zak 5y ago
      The recent high-profile example is a far-right group conspiring to kill the governor of Saxony. https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/12/15/1064463596/german-police-anti-vax-assassination-plot https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/1...
      - xfitm3 5y ago
        Very sad. The truth is everyone who wants to get vaccinated has got the jab already. Time to stop doubling down on mandates and remember we're all humans.
        Arnt 5y ago
        Someone I know is a physician at a hospital. She looked awfully tired when I met her a few days ago. "Too much corona", she explained. Shall I just suggest to her that it's time to stop doubling down?

Luckily German ministers dont have any clue about the mysterious new thing called "the internet"

viraptor 5y ago
That's not a great take. Not only do they understand the internet and the request seems to be formulated in a way it can be restricted to Germany, they also know the same pressure worked in other cases. For example Twitter knows which of their users are Nazi sympathisers - they're currently marked as such so that they're not displayed in Germany where it's illegal. In other countries it seems it's more profitable to accept them...

dang 5y ago

Past related thread: Germany doesn't rule out closing Telegram – interior minister - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29905293 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29905293 - Jan 2022 (181 comments) --- Also: We have the deepest respect for the German language, but HN is an English language site and posts here need to be in English. It's hard enough to get people to read the articles even when they are. https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=by%3Adang%20english-language%20site&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...

6H3xQqa59LTN6uu 5y ago

berndi 5y ago

Free speech is not really a thing in Germany (e.g., until very recently, insulting foreign heads of state was a criminal offence). Our ruling class absolutely resents the fact that the German people may have a channel for at least somewhat uncensored communication. Unfortunately, we don’t have a first amendment that would put some restrictions on their lust for control and power.

tomjen3 5y ago

Why all this hate on Telegram, when it is not even guaranteed to be e2e? Is Signal already banned?

Arnt 5y ago
This isn't about encryption at all, it's about a function that Signal doesn't have: Public and searchable groups. A Signal group is private to the members, always and by design. You can only join by knowing someone in the group, and only read the messages by being in the group. Telegram has groups that you can find by searching, and that you can join and read without knowing anyone else in the group. That kind of group is central to several of the big problems in German society at the moment.
- josephcsible 5y ago
  > several of the big problems in German society at the moment Can you elaborate on this?
  - Zak 5y ago
    The recent high-profile example is a far-right group conspiring to kill the governor of Saxony. https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/12/15/1064463596/german-police-anti-vax-assassination-plot https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/1...
    - xfitm3 5y ago
      Very sad. The truth is everyone who wants to get vaccinated has got the jab already. Time to stop doubling down on mandates and remember we're all humans.
      - Arnt 5y ago
        Someone I know is a physician at a hospital. She looked awfully tired when I met her a few days ago. "Too much corona", she explained. Shall I just suggest to her that it's time to stop doubling down?