By Alasdair Pal
SYDNEY, July 30 (Reuters) – Australia’s internet regulator said on Thursday it had begun legal action against messaging platform Telegram over alleged failings to tackle pro-terror posts.
The office of the eSafety Commissioner said it had begun action after Telegram failed to remove videos of terrorist executions and mass shootings.
“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.
“We allege that this content remained accessible on the service long after Telegram had been put on notice.”
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.
A spokesperson for Telegram did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Telegram is one of the world’s most downloaded apps, with over 1 billion monthly active users, according to the company.
Its founder, Russian-born Pavel Durov, left Russia in 2014, moving himself and the company to Dubai in 2017.
The platform has become a critical source of information on Russia’s war in Ukraine and is used widely by officials in Moscow and Kyiv.
Russia on Wednesday charged Durov with facilitating terrorist activity, alleging that the app was being used by Ukrainian spies to organise attacks inside Russia.
($1 = 1.4366 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Alasdair Pal in Sydney; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Stephen Coates)
