Al-Maliki on banning Telegram: government should block platforms inciting violence, hatred instead

Shafaq News/ Iraq's former prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, on Sunday, expressed discontent with banning Telegram, a popular messaging application in Iraq, stressing that the government should direct its attention toward platforms that promote violence and hatred.

Iraq's telecoms ministry said it had blocked Telegram over national security concerns and in order to preserve the integrity of users' data, which it said the app had mishandled.

"Iraq, a democratic nation that upholds the freedom of media and expression, recognizes these as fundamental rights, albeit not absolute ones," the head of the State of Law bloc wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, "blocking social media sites for security reasons should take into consideration the distinction between sites supporting the state and government, versus those inciting hatred, violence, and infringements on others' privacy."

The app is widely used in Iraq for messaging but also as a source of news and for sharing content.

Some channels contain large amounts of personal data, including the names, addresses, and family ties of Iraqis.

The ministry said in a statement it had asked the app to close down "platforms that leak the data of the official state institutions and the personal data of citizens... but the company did not respond and did not interact with any of these requests."

"The Ministry of Communications affirms its respect for citizens' rights to freedom of expression and communication, without prejudice to the security of the state and its institutions," the statement said.