Australia’s online safety regulator has launched legal action against the messaging platform Telegram over its alleged failure to remove videos showing terrorist executions and mass shootings for weeks after they were reported by Australian users, local media reported on Thursday.
eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said the civil proceedings followed a year-long investigation into whether Telegram complied with its obligations under Australia’s Online Safety Act. Violations of the law could result in penalties of up to 54.6 million Australian dollars, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
The regulator alleges that Telegram failed to remove reported pro-terror content for periods of up to three weeks, did not shut down accounts, channels, and groups distributing such material, and failed to detect known violent content, including the livestreamed Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand in 2019 and the Buffalo, New York mass shooting in 2022.
According to eSafety, some of the content remained available on the platform for nearly three months before being removed.
The regulator also accused Telegram’s terms of service of failing to ban pro-terror material across all parts of the platform and said that users who reported the content were never informed about the outcome of their complaints.
“This should concern all of us. We are talking about the most seriously harmful material online, and Australian law requires services across the digital ecosystem to take responsibility for the role they play in allowing this material to spread,” Grant said.
“No platform is above the law, and this action demonstrates that eSafety will not hesitate to use the full extent of its powers to protect Australians,” she added.
Communications Minister Anika Wells said Australia has zero tolerance for technology companies that fail to prevent, detect, and remove terrorist-related material from their platforms.
