Australia Sues Telegram for Failing to Act on Posts Inciting Terrorism

Australia sues Telegram for failing to act on posts inciting terrorism

July 30

Australia's internet safety watchdog, eSafety, announced on July 30 that it has filed a lawsuit against Telegram, a social network messaging application, for failing to effectively take action against posts inciting terrorism.

eSafety alleges that Telegram failed to remove content related to terrorism, including videos depicting killings and mass shootings by extremists.

According to eSafety, between July and October 2025, Australian Telegram users reported 12 posts supporting terrorism, three of which were linked to extremist groups.

However, Telegram reportedly did not remove 10 of those posts, nor did it suspend or ban the accounts that posted the content.

If the court determines that Telegram has not complied with Australia's internet regulations, the platform could face fines of up to 54.6 million Australian dollars.

Telegram has denied the allegations and stated it will contest them in court. Telegram has over 1 billion monthly users and is one of the most downloaded messaging platforms globally.

It has also become an essential source of critical information regarding the Russia-Ukraine war and is widely used by officials in both Moscow and Kyiv.

On the other hand, Russia filed a lawsuit against Telegram founder Pavel Durov on July 29, accusing him of aiding terrorism, claiming that Telegram is being used by Ukrainian spies to plan attacks.

Ref & Photo; Reuters

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