Australia sues Telegram for A$54.6m over failure to remove terrorist content
Australia’s eSafety regulator has filed civil proceedings seeking up to A$54.6 million from Telegram over alleged failures to remove extremist material, a move that reinforces the global regulatory crackdown on platform moderation delays and echoes the European Union’s strict content removal mandates.
Australia’s eSafety regulator has filed civil penalty proceedings against Telegram in the Federal Court, seeking up to A$54.6 million. The action alleges the messaging platform failed to remove notorious extremist videos, including footage of the 2019 Christchurch mosque attack and Islamic State beheadings, after receiving formal takedown demands.
eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant initiated the push for compliance in March 2024. She described the company as “non-responsive for months,” creating what she termed a “permissive hosting environment for terrorist content.”
The case relies on Australia’s 2021 Online Safety Act, which mandates the removal of illegal and pro-terrorism material once notified. If the court rules against the company, the maximum penalty of roughly $38 million would dwarf previous fines imposed by the regulator for procedural failures.
Telegram has vowed to contest the allegations in court. The company stated it blocked more than 150,000 “terrorist-related communities” in 2026, maintaining its position that it removes genuinely illegal content at scale.
For European markets and policymakers, this case serves as a powerful validation of the continent’s own regulatory trajectory. The European Union already requires platforms to remove flagged terrorist content within an hour, treating hosting delays as violations in themselves.
This legal escalation signals to tech investors and global companies that jurisdictional arbitrage is becoming increasingly untenable. Regulators in Canberra and Brussels are demonstrating a willingness to treat moderation speed as a strict legal obligation, regardless of where a platform is headquartered.
Telegram is currently facing compounding legal pressure across multiple jurisdictions. In the same week as the Australian filing, Russia’s FSB charged founder Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorism, an accusation the company dismissed as a pretext.
The forthcoming Federal Court proceedings will test practical enforcement rather than moral principle. The outcome will determine whether Australia’s online safety regime possesses genuine legal teeth, setting a consequential precedent for holding foreign-based tech firms accountable.
