Messaging app Telegram has been fined nearly $1 million by Australia’s eSafety Commissioner for delaying its response to inquiries on combatting extremism and child abuse content.
On Monday, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant announced Telegram missed the reporting deadline by “over five months”.
Telegram has 28 days to pay the fine or appeal it. It has said it will appeal it.
Telegram
Telegram is a Russian messaging app with over 950 million monthly users.
It has a ‘Secret Chat’ feature where users can send each other encrypted messages, meaning they cannot be read by any third parties or Telegram staff.
The platform was founded in 2013 by billionaire Pavel Durov.
Durov was arrested in France last year and charged with multiple counts of failing to restrict drug trafficking and child sexual abuse content.
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eSafety
The eSafety Commissioner, a position currently held by Julie Inman Grant, is the Government’s independent online safety watchdog.
In March 2024, Inman Grant requested social media platforms report the measures they are taking to tackle terrorist and violent extremist material. Telegram and Reddit were also asked to outline their anti-child sexual abuse measures.
The platforms were given a deadline of 6 May 2024. Telegram did not provide their report until October 2024.
As a result, Inman Grant said Telegram had been “non-compliant,” and handed down a fine of $957,780.
Inman Grant said that “giving Telegram this infringement notice sends an important message to industry that timely transparency is not a voluntary requirement in Australia.”
Telegram told international news agency Reuters: “The unfair and disproportionate penalty concerns only the response time frame, and we intend to appeal.”
