Australia’s online safety regulator said on Thursday it had launched legal proceedings against messaging platform Telegram, accusing the company of failing to adequately address the spread of terrorist content on its platform.
The eSafety Commissioner’s office said the action followed Telegram’s failure to remove videos depicting terrorist executions and mass shootings, despite its obligations to curb such material.
“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,” eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said in a statement.
Failure to comply with Australia’s codes and standards could result in civil penalties of up to A$54.6 million ($38 million), the statement said.
Telegram’s anti-terrorism efforts are well-documented, the spokesperson added, with thousands of extremist communities blocked by the platform in 2026 alone.
Russia Charges Founder Pavel Durov
The legal action in Australia comes a day after Russia charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorist activity, alleging that the messaging app was being used by Ukrainian spies to organise attacks inside Russia.
The charges, announced by the Federal Security Service (FSB), marked the culmination of a long-running investigation against the Russian-born billionaire and his Dubai-based company.
In response, Telegram’s official account on X posted an image of Durov making an obscene gesture with his middle finger.
According to statements by the FSB and the Investigative Committee, a chatbot on Telegram known as “Daivinchik/Leo” had been used by Ukrainian special services to recruit young Russians for sabotage and terrorist operations. The FSB alleged that agents posing as young women used the dating chatbot to contact and coerce Russians into carrying out attacks.
The agency said 46 Russians aged between 12 and 22 had been arrested over the past year after allegedly being recruited to attack law enforcement officers or set fire to transport, energy, communications and financial infrastructure.
The FSB said Durov would be placed on an international wanted list, although it did not specify the mechanism.
Telegram Under Pressure
Moscow has effectively throttled access to Telegram as part of a broader campaign to curb foreign technology platforms and tighten control over the internet. Russians can now access the service only through virtual private networks (VPNs), although state bodies including the Kremlin and the defence ministry continue to post on the platform daily.
The platform has become a critical source of information on Russia’s war in Ukraine and is widely used by officials, soldiers and influential bloggers in both Moscow and Kyiv.
The Australian legal action and Russia’s criminal case add to growing scrutiny of Telegram as governments step up efforts to hold the platform accountable over content moderation, security and its role in national security investigations.
(With inputs from Reuters)