Denmark’s Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said he would ban information platforms that promote crime if possible, but added that this is “legally impossible”. His comments were later distorted online to suggest the Danish government could soon ban such apps.
A post sharing Hummelgaard’s photo online said: “Danish Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said the Danish government may ban Signal, Telegram and WhatsApp to combat organised crime.
On 21 August, at a joint press conference attended by the justice ministers of Sweden and Denmark , Hummelgaard addressed the issue of pressure being exerted on technology companies after criminal gangs issued instructions to recruit young Swedes to commit violent crimes in the Nordic country.
Hummelgaard said that if it were up to them alone, some communication platforms would be geo-blocked and shut down, as encrypted services and social media (namely Telegram and TikTok) are widely used to promote crime.
“Today this is not legally possible. But we are working hard to see if these avenues can be developed and found,” he said.
A review of the live broadcast of the press conference showed that Hummelgaard did not indicate that the Danish government could soon ban messaging apps.
In response to a request for comment, Hummelgaard said in an email: “If it is entirely in line with my political intentions, I believe some of these services should be blocked or shut down. However, I acknowledge that, as things are, this is not legally possible, which is why we must constantly strive to find new ways to prevent the abuse of these services for such purposes.
In Denmark, any bill banning messaging apps must be considered three times in the Folketing, the Danish parliament, before it can be passed into law .
In May 2024, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and EU MP Christel Schaldemose wrote and published an article in the Danish newspaper Politico ,In which the European Union has a ban on the use of social media
The Associated Press reported that the Danish Parliament voted to halt the attacks due to spying risks.In February 2023, it banned its employees and members from using TikTok on official mobile phones.
cataclysm
Misleading. Hummelgaard said that if it were up to him, he would restrict messaging apps to curb crime, rather than Denmark being able to ban such apps.
This article was written by the Askume fact-checking team. Learn more about our fact-checking efforts .
