In brief
Australia’s eSafety commissioner has launched legal action against Telegram after the platform failed to remove extremist content, including footage of the Christchurch and Buffalo shootings, for months. The regulator says the unresponsive system enables radicalisation and may have been used to plan attacks. Telegram could face a fine of up to A$54.6m under the Online Safety Act and may even be shut down if it fails to comply.
Australia’s eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman‑Grant, has taken the messaging platform to court after it allegedly failed to remove extremist content, including videos from the Christchurch mosque shootings and the Buffalo mall shooting, for months despite repeated notices.
The regulator warned that the delay allowed the material to remain easily searchable, potentially normalising and radicalising users and possibly even being used to plan attacks. Inman‑Grant said the platform’s response was “very difficult” and the service’s permissive environment for extremist content was dangerous.
Telegram could face a fine of up to A$54.6m (about US$38m) under the Online Safety Act for breaching its safety obligations. The platform had previously been fined A$1m in February 2025 for ignoring child‑abuse and extremist queries.
The case comes amid a wider global focus on social‑media regulation, with Russia recently charging Telegram founder Pavel Durov and France investigating him for inadequate moderation. Telegram has denied any failures in moderation and maintained cooperation with law‑enforcement agencies.
