The German Interior Minister commented on the situation with Telegram

Nancy Fraser said that her main task is to increase pressure on messenger and clear Telegram of unwanted content.

"We cannot agree that appeals to incite hatred and harassment are being spread through Telegram without Telegram's own reaction [to this]," Feather concluded.

Our news in German: @tginfoger

Telegram is working on video stickers

An API Schema update revealed a mention on video stickers.

Likely, users will be able to create stickers from regular raster videos. We can assume a video format with transparency support will be used. One of the most popular such formats is WebM.

Currently all animated stickers are vector. To create your own animated stickers for Telegram, you need Adobe After Effects skills. Video stickers will make animated stickers easier to create, will allow to use camera footage or, for example, 3D animation.

Two investigations against Telegram launched in Germany

Both launched cases are related to the absence of a commissioner for Telegram in Germany, the messenger is threatened with fines.

The company must appoint a responsible person to resolve legal issues. Among them is the removal of illegal materials. German authorities are concerned that opponents of coronavirus restrictions are coordinating their actions through messengers.

Otherwise, million-dollar fines will follow, said Minister of Justice Marco Busman.

According to information welt.de, Apple has provided Germany with a Telegram contact address.

Our news in German: @tginfoger

#courts #Germany

Video Stickers, Better Reactions and More

Telegram for Android, iOS, macOS and Unigram has been updated to version 8.5, Telegram Desktop — to version 3.5.

Video Stickers
• Use a new type of detailed stickers with smooth animations.
• Create new sets by sending .webm videos to @stickers.
• Bring your custom animated stickers from other apps.

Better Reactions
• See smaller, compact animations when reacting to messages.
• See real-time animations in chat when a user reacts to your message.
• React with additional emoji expressing love, appreciation, anger or surprise.

Read Status for Reactions
• Tap the new button in chats to jump to your messages that have unseen reactions.
• Watch the animations for unseen reactions play when you hit the button.

And More
• The app will warn you before closing if you are uploading photos or files to a chat.
• Enjoy better screencast quality in video chats.

Read all about this update on the Telegram blog:
https://telegram.org/blog/video-stickers-better-reactions

Android: Google Play, APK from official website or verified channel.
iOS: App Store.
Telegram Desktop: with official website or GitHub.
Telegram for macOS: from App Store or verified channel.
Unigram for Windows 10: Microsoft Store | Download | Installation help

#update #Android #iOS #Desktop #macOS #Unigram

Telegram blocked 64 groups after negotiations with the German government

Telegram has blocked 64 groups in Germany for anti-Semitism and incitement of hatred by the requirements of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the criminal police.

On February 10, a second meeting took place between the government and company representatives, the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported, citing its information.

The Telegram channels of conspiracy ideologue Attila Hildmann have been unavailable in Germany since Tuesday. Hildmann has been spreading myths about a conspiracy against the coronavirus and inciting hatred in a channel with 100,000 subscribers on Telegram. Since February 2021, a 40-year-old man has been put on a wanted list in Germany and is allegedly hiding in Turkey.

Our news in German: @tginfoger

#courts #Germany

Wired has released a huge text about Telegram

Pavel Durov has not given interviews in recent years, and all articles are based on old open information and conversations with former messenger employees. Journalist Darren Lucaides spent almost a year talking to former and current Telegram employees.

Durov's Code find out that one of the main characters in the Wired article never worked for Telegram, but was a volunteer.

Elies Campo has never worked for Telegram, let alone lead anything.
The conversations with Pavel Durov, to which he refers in the article, never happened, – stated in the press service of the messenger.

Nevertheless, the journalist managed to talk to former and current employees of Telegram, as well as to meet with Ilya Perekopsky, who is the only one from the team who gives public comments and speaks to the press.

Electoral court President Barroso threatens to suspend Telegram

Supreme Court (STF) Justice and Superior Electoral Court (TSE) President Luís Roberto Barroso again commented on the suspension of Telegram in Brazil.

“I think that a platform, whatever it is, that doesn't want to submit to Brazilian laws should simply be suspended,” he said in an interview with O Globo newspaper.

"Brazil is not a place where just anything can be said”.

Blocking Telegram in Brazil has been a constant topic in the Supreme Court. While Facebook, WhatsApp, TikTok have collaborated with the Brazilian court to remove disinformation during the 2020 elections, Telegram ignored dialogues from the Supreme Court of Brazil to work together in 2022.

#courts

RTMP Live Broadcasts in Telegram

A mention of RTMP Live Broadcasts appeared in Telegram API schema.

This will let streamers broadcast not just using the Telegram app, but also using third party software, e.g. OBS Studio. Such software allows composite video and audio from different sources, automating the broadcast, displaying chat and donations. RTMP is a common standard and is supported by other live broadcasting platforms like YouTube and Twitch.

Currently to make a live broadcast backed by third party software you need to use libraries, or you can use OBS by its emulated camera feature passed through Telegram Desktop or Telegram for macOS.

Telegram may be removed from app stores in Brazil

Brazil's Federal Prosecutor's Office addressed a letter to Apple and Google. In it, the authorities asked to remove the Telegram app from Brazilian App Store and Google Play.

Telegram has been a subject of some hot discussions in the Brazilian government lately. High-ranking officials suspect that the messenger is used to send disinformation and conspiracy theories than interfere in the electoral process.

Telegram, unlike other platforms like Twitter and WhatsApp, still has no representatives in Brazil. Authorities have made unsuccessful attempts to contact the company's headquarters to discuss measures the messenger could take "to ensure the security of this year's upcoming presidential elections".

https://tecnoblog.net/noticias/2022/02/22/mpf-recorre-a-google-e-apple-para-limitar-telegram-no-brasil/

#courts

Telegram announces new competition for developers to create face conversion module for video

Task: Create a cross-platform C++ module for face correction, and embed the module in a demo app on iOS or Android, which would convert video from the front camera in real-time.

Requirements:
- High 30/60 FPS performance;
- Entries must have a total module size (binary size) not exceeding 2 MB;
- Third-party libraries (OpenCV and similar) and ML models are not welcome, but not forbidden.

Prerequisites:
- All developers are welcome to participate.
- In addition to the prize money, the winners will also get a chance to work on Telegram in Dubai.

Prize Fund: $40,000
Deadline for entries: March 13, 2022, 23:59 Dubai time
Results announcement: 17 March 2022

#contest

Pavel Durov ensured Telegram is safe for Ukrainians and made a statement about his position on the conflict.

The Telegram CEO and ex-CEO of Russian social network VK retold his story, explaining why you should consider Telegram to be safe for Ukrainians and why he is not going to work with the Russian government.

You can read the post on his channel.

Sponsored Messages in Group Chats

Few days ago Telegram's sponsored messages were spotted at the bottom of some large English-speaking group chats.

Particularly, such ads were spotted in BotList chat. Right now the sponsored message is disabled and you can't see it anymore.

It's uncertain if it's either a bug or a limited testing of new features.

We at Telegram Info speculate that the messenger may allow group chat owners to place ads in their chats so they can monetize them.

Download⁠ Manager, Live Streaming With Other Apps, New Attachment Menu

Telegram for Android, iOS, macOS and Unigram has been updated to version 8.6, Telegram Desktop — to version 3.6.

Download Manager
• The Search screen has a new Downloads tab where you can see all currently and recently downloaded media and files (Desktop: Settings > Advanced > Downloads).
• While files are actively downloading, a new icon will now appear in the Search bar or in the app header.
• In the Downloads menu, you can pause and restart downloads, change priority, or quickly go to a dialog where a specific file from the list has been sent.

Live Streaming With Other Apps
• You can broadcast from streaming tools like OBS Studio and XSplit Broadcaster.
• Tools allow you to add overlays and multi-screen layouts with ease, turning any Telegram channel into a professional TV Station.
• To stream from these tools, start a new Video Chat in your group or a new Live Stream in your channel, tap the «Start With» button and enter the information found there into your streaming tool.
• Your viewers will need to update their apps to the latest version to watch your stream.

New Attachment Menu
• When sending multiple photos or videos, tap Selected at the top of the panel to preview how the album will look in the chat when it’s sent — and rearrange or remove selected media.
• The attachment menu has been fully redesigned on iOS.
• The updated Files tab shows recently sent files and lets you search for them by name.

Phone Number Links
• This update allows you to share a direct t.me link to your phone number that instantly opens a chat with you.
• The link will only work if your privacy settings let others find you by your phone number.
• The format for these links is t.me/+123456789, with the full phone number in international format.

And More
• Updated design for t.me pages.
• New authorization interface with smooth animations (Telegram for Android and macOS).
• New on-screen animations for logging in via QR code (Telegram for macOS).
• Semi-Transparent Interface on Android for Night Theme.
• Open another account in a new window (Telegram for macOS).

Read all about this update on the Telegram blog:
https://telegram.org/blog/downloads-attachments-streaming

Android: Google Play, APK from official website or verified channel.
iOS: App Store.
Telegram Desktop: with official website or GitHub.
Telegram for macOS: from App Store or verified channel.
Unigram for Windows 10: Microsoft Store | Download | Installation help

#update #Android #iOS #Desktop #macOS #Unigram

Tightened privacy for People Nearby

People Nearby allows you to see nearest users with the feature turned on and approximate distances to them.

To protect from the feature to be exploited for detecting somebody's precise location, the distance is being distorted.

Earlier, the distortion was within 100 meters and rounding was done up to hundreds. Since February 2022, it is distorted within 700 meters and then rounded to 500 meters.

Pavel Durov suggests that Elon Musk sign up for Telegram

In his Twitter account, Pavel Durov suggested that Elon Musk register on Telegram and reserved the @elona channel address for him.

Earlier, Ramzan Kadyrov called Musk Ilona. Musk supported the joke and renamed himself Elona Musk on Twitter.

Telegram Desktop has been updated to version 3.6.1

What's new:
— Change volume for RTMP stream from the context menu.
— Set a profile photo from your camera.
— Improve RTMP stream full screen mode.
— Improve edit account section design.
— A new item in the experimental settings, to change the icons in the settings.
— Fix switching personal account or channel in video chats.
— Fix pinning chats in folders with 100 chats.
— Fix YouTube timestamp links after 10 hours.

Download: with official website or GitHub.

#update #desktop

The results of the real-time face correction module contest have been announced

The task of the March competition was to create a cross-platform C++ module for face correction and embed it in a demo app on iOS or Android that would convert video from the front camera in real-time.

The prize fund of $42,500 was shared by 20 contestants.

As most of the entrants chose to use existing third-party solutions instead of presenting a new approach to the competition, and the judges noticed many algorithm and application flaws in the submissions themselves, no developer came out on top in the competition.

Detailed information about the winners, their awards and works can be seen on the official Telegram contest channel.

#contest

Blocking Telegram in Brazil

Brazil's Supreme Court judge has ruled to block Telegram in the country.

The messenger team ignored attempts by Brazil's Higher Electoral Court (TSE) to contact them. The judge ordered all Internet providers to block the work of Telegram. They face a fine of 100,000 reals ($20,000) for failure to comply with the court's decision.

Journalists note that the TSE chairman suspects the use of Telegram for spreading misinformation.

Read all the news about the blocking of Telegram in Brazil at @tginfobr.

oantagonista.uol.com.br/brasil/urgente-moraes-manda-bloquear-telegram

#Brazil #locks

Pavel Durov apologized to the Supreme Court of Brazil and asked to postpone the blocking of the messenger

«It seems that we had an issue with emails going between our telegram.org corporate addresses and the Brazilian Supreme Court. As a result of this miscommunication, the Court ruled to ban Telegram for being unresponsive.

On behalf of our team, I apologize to the Brazilian Supreme Court for our negligence. We definitely could have done a better job.

We complied with an earlier court decision in late February and responded with a suggestion to send future takedown requests to a dedicated email address. Unfortunately, our response must have been lost, because the Court used the old general-purpose email address in further attempts to reach us. As a result, we missed its decision in early March that contained a follow-up takedown request. Luckily, we have now found and processed it, delivering another report to the Court today.

Because tens of millions of Brazilians rely on Telegram to communicate with family, friends and colleagues, I ask the Court to consider delaying its ruling for a few days at its discretion to allow us to remedy the situation by appointing a representative in Brazil and setting up a framework to react to future pressing issues like this in an expedited manner.

The last 3 weeks have been unprecedented for the world and for Telegram. Our content moderation team was flooded with requests from multiple parties. However, I am certain that once a reliable channel of communication is established, we'll be able to efficiently process takedown requests for public channels that are illegal in Brazil».

Brazil has withdrawn the decision to block Telegram

The head of the Supreme Court of Brazil, Alexander de Moraes, canceled an earlier signed decision to block the Telegram messenger in the country.

Moraes explained that the administration of the messenger fulfills the conditions set for Telegram to continue working in Brazil. In this regard, the lock is set.

We are looking for volunteers from Brazil who will help us better navigate the situation around Telegram in the country. Write to @infowritebot.

#Brazil