Telegram has been fined A$957,780 by Australia’s online safety regulator, eSafety, for failing to respond on time to questions about its efforts to tackle terrorism and child abuse material on its platform. Telegram took nearly 160 days to provide the requested information, which obstructed eSafety’s ability to perform its functions under the Online Safety Act for almost half a year.
The notice was issued to Telegram and other companies in May of the previous year, with a deadline to report back in October on steps taken to address terrorist, violent extremism, and child exploitation material.
Julie Inman Grant, the eSafety commissioner, emphasized the need for greater transparency from the tech industry to hold them accountable for addressing serious online harms affecting Australians.
A joint statement by the Five Eyes security agencies, including Australian intelligence organizations, identified Telegram as a platform through which young people access extremist propaganda videos.
Telegram described the penalty as “unfair and disproportionate” and stated its intention to appeal the fine.
If Telegram does not pay the fine, eSafety could take further actions, including seeking civil penalties in the federal court. Blocking the site or removing the app from app stores is also an option but not currently being considered.
Following the arrest of Telegram’s CEO, Pavel Durov, in France last August, the company has shown a willingness to cooperate more with global regulators. Durov remains on bail and is banned from leaving France until his case is heard, potentially up to a year later.
Since Durov’s arrest, Telegram has started releasing transparency reports. In 2024, it fulfilled 14 requests for IP address and/or telephone number information from Australian law enforcement, affecting 23 users.
The eSafety report containing responses from Telegram, Meta, WhatsApp, Google, and Reddit will be released in early March.
Elon Musk’s X appealed against a similar notice to the Administrative Review Tribunal, with the case ongoing. Additionally, eSafety fined X over $610,000 for failing to adequately respond to notices and took X to court, while X also sued over the notices. These cases are still ongoing.
