Key facts
- Australia's eSafety Commissioner has begun legal action against Telegram.
- The action is over alleged failures to remove pro-terror posts, including videos of executions and mass shootings.
- The content is linked to the Christchurch and Buffalo terror attacks.
- Telegram faces civil penalties of up to A$54.6 million ($38 million) for non-compliance.
- Russia previously charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorism and issued an international arrest warrant.
- Durov was also arrested in Paris on allegations of illicit activity and released on bail.
Australia's internet regulator, the eSafety Commissioner, has initiated legal action against the messaging platform Telegram over its alleged failure to remove pro-terrorist content. The regulator stated that videos of terrorist executions and mass shootings, linked to attacks such as those in Christchurch and Buffalo, remained accessible on the service long after Telegram was put on notice.
Failure to comply with Australian codes and standards could result in civil penalties of up to A$54.6 million ($38 million). Telegram, which has over 1 billion monthly active users, has not yet responded to a request for comment.
This action comes shortly after Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorism and issued an international arrest warrant. The FSB claims the platform's failure to remove extremist content led to the charges. Durov, who left Russia in 2014 and is now based in Dubai, was also recently arrested in Paris on allegations of illicit activity and released on bail, facing preliminary charges related to the platform's use for drug trafficking and child abuse images.