Politician says Germany should ban Telegram unless it tackles extremist content

A 3D printed Telegram logo and keyboard buttons are placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken January 21, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany should order the messaging programme Telegram removed from Apple's and Google's app stores if it continues to ignore requests to help track down extremist content, a senior German official said on Tuesday.

Telegram has been blamed in Germany for fueling an increasingly virulent subculture of anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists who exchange news about supposed dangers and arrange protests that have spilled over into violence.