Australia's online safety regulator has fined messaging platform Telegram more than $600,000 for allegedly failing to respond to content related to child abuse and terrorism in a timely manner.
The notice of the fine was issued to Telegram and several other companies in May 2024. They had a deadline to report back in October 2024 with steps on how they plan to address terrorist and violent extremist material and child exploitation material on their platforms.
Telegram Fined More Than $600,000
However, because Telegram did not respond for almost 160 days, eSafety issued an infringement notice to the company for more than $600,000. The commissioner of eSafety, Julie Inman Grant, said that they need much greater transparency if they want accountability from the tech industry.
She said that this gives them a better look at what is actually happening behind the scenes and how these particular platforms are addressing or not addressing various issues. These include a range of serious and egregious online harms that affect Australians, according to The Guardian.
Grant said that timely transparency was not a voluntary requirement in Australia, adding that it is an action that enforces the importance of all companies that are complying with Australian law. She said that Telegram's delayed response obstructed eSafety from implementing its online safety measures.
On the other hand, Telegram said that it fully responded to the commission's questions last year and had no outstanding issues. The company said that the commission's "unfair and disproportionate penalty concerns only the response time frame." It added that it plans to appeal.
Addressing Child Abuse and Terrorism Content
In December last year, Australia's spy agency said that one in five priority counterterrorism cases investigated involved youths. Telegram has been under increasing scrutiny worldwide after its founder, Pavel Durov, was placed under formal investigation in France in August 2024 for allegedly using the platform for illegal activities, Reuters reported.
Durov is currently out on bail and has denied all of the allegations against him. Grant argued that Big Tech must become transparent and implement measures to prevent its services from being misused amid the growing threat of online extremism.
Grant said that Telegram's response timeline was crucial in helping the eSafety Commission tackle illegal content and protect the community from harm. As per Channel News Asia, if Telegram chooses not to pay the fine, the eSafety Commission is authorized to seek a penalty in federal court.
