Summary
- Australian regulators initiated legal action against messaging app Telegram, alleging it failed to remove terror-related content, exposing the platform to a potential fine of up to $38 million under the Online Safety Act.
- Australia’s Safety Commissioner stated the case targets material linked to extremist attacks, while Telegram insists its anti-terrorism efforts are robust and vows to contest the allegations in court.
- Telegram founder Pavel Durov faces terrorism-related charges in Russia owing to Ukraine’s utilize of the platform and a French investigation over alleged failures to moderate criminal activity on the app.
Australian authorities are taking Telegram to court over an alleged failure to remove terror-related content, including video of the March 2019 shooting at a Christchurch, New Zealand mosque in which 51 people were murdered, several news outlets reported Thursday.
Julie Inman-Grant, Australia’s Safety Commissioner, stated the messaging app founded by Pavel Durov faced a fine of up to $38 million for failing to comply with its obligations under the Online Safety Act, the BBC stated.
“This case concerns content linked to some of the most notorious acts of known extremist violence in recent history, including material associated with the Christchurch and Buffalo terror attacks,” Inman-Grant stated in a statement, as reported by Reuters.
“We reject these allegations and will contest them in court,” a spokesperson for Telegram stated in response to Reuters a request for comment. Telegram’s anti-terrorism efforts are well-documented, with thousands of extremist communities blocked by the platform in 2026 alone, the spokesperson told the news agency.
Telegram, home of many crypto-related discussion groups, hosting project communities, trading groups, bots and blockchain-based mini apps, did not immediately respond to a CoinDesk request for further comment.
