In a decision published on Friday, Judge Alexandre de Moraes ordered the app blocked immediately across the South American nation, citing Telegram’s failure to comply with orders from Brazilian authorities and remove messages found to contain misinformation, AlJazeera reported.

“Telegram’s disrespect for Brazilian law and repeated failure to comply with countless court decisions … is completely incompatible with the rule of law,” Moraes wrote in his decision.

The judge said the company had repeatedly refused to comply with rulings and requests from police, the Superior Electoral Tribunal and the Supreme Court itself.

Moraes also ordered Apple and Google to help block users on their platforms from being able to use Telegram in Brazil; both tech giants declined to comment.

Anatel said it had “forwarded the judicial decision to the entities operating in the regulated sector”.

Telegram, which has proved popular with far-right groups worldwide, did not respond to a request for comment from the Reuters news agency. Brazil’s federal police also declined to comment.

MNA/PR