Brazil's top court orders investigation into Google, Telegram

• 

According to Brazilian media, the Supreme Federal Court has requested an investigation into the behavior of the leadership of Google and Telegram's local offices. 

The Brazilian Prosecutor General's Office urged the country's top court on Thursday to open an investigation into the acts of Google and Telegram key executives, accusing them of engaging in a misinformation campaign against Brazil's draft statute on fakes.

According to the Brazilian G1 news portal, Supreme Federal Court judge Alexandre de Moraes accepted the prosecutor general's request and authorized the opening of an investigation against the directors of Google and Telegram in the country for the alleged disinformation campaign on Friday. 

The judge handed the Federal Police of Brazil 60 days to begin the inquiry. 

Telegram warned on May 9 that it was ready to leave Brazil if the Brazilian government enacted a measure to combat disinformation on social media.

Last month, a Brazilian judge overturned the court's decision to suspend the Telegram messaging service on account of the parent firm refusing to give authorities the information they requested on neo-Nazis using the network.

For failing to cooperate in an investigation into neo-Nazi behavior on social networks connected to school violence, the court fined Telegram a million reais (about $198,000) per day and ordered the temporary suspension of its operations.