Telegram to Fight Australias eSafety Over Claims It Failed to Remove Terrorist Content

An illustration photograph taken on April 17, 2025 the Telegram messaging app displayed on a phone screen, in a residential property in Guildford, south of London. Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty ImagesTelegram has rejected allegations from Australia’s eSafety Commissioner that it failed to tackle terrorist content on its messaging platform.This comes after eSafety launched civil penalty proceedings against the messaging app in the Federal Court of Australia for allegedly failing to “detect and remove pro-terror material” from the platform.In response, Telegram confirmed to the Epoch Times that the messaging platform would challenge eSafety’s allegations in court.“Telegram’s extensive anti terrorism efforts are well documented. We reject these allegations and will contest them in court” a spokesperson told The Epoch Times.Australia’s online regulator has undertaken a one-year long investigation and claims Telegram “failed to comply with systemic safety obligations” for electronic services material (pdf) in the Online Safety Act.eSafety alleges that Telegram did not remove videos of terrorist executions following reports by Australian users and the material stayed available for up to three weeks.Further, the eSafety Commissioner claims that Telegram failed to detect “known pro-terror material” including the live streamed Christchurch mosque shooting from 2019 and the Buffalo mass shooting in New York from May 2022.eSafety claims this material remained on Telegram for nearly three months before being removed.The eSafety Commissioner warned that failing to comply with Australia’s codes and standards may lead to fines of up to $54.6 million.eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant argued the continued proliferation of pro-terror material and extreme violence risks normalising extremist content“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 attack,” she said in a statement.Inman Grant highlighted it was “more important than ever” for digital platforms to meet their obligations in the “painful aftermath” of the Bondi terror attack and given the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation has designated the threat of a terror attack as “probable.”“No platform is above the law and this action demonstrates that eSafety will not hesitate to use the full range of its powers to protect Australians,” Inman Grant said.Telegram Defends Efforts Blocking Terrorism Content Telegram highlighted that it had blocked 153,085 terrorist related communities in 2026.“Calls to violence and terrorist propaganda have no place on Telegram,” the app said.Telegram also said it worked with the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology (ETIDAL) to deal with terror-related content and that moderators had removed 200 million pieces of content.