Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant announced on July 30, 2026, that legal action has been taken against Telegram for failing to remove pro-terror content from its platform, including videos of terrorist executions and mass shootings such as the 2019 Christchurch mosque shooting and the 2022 Buffalo shooting [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9].
The action follows a year-long investigation that began in March 2024 into Telegram’s compliance with Australia’s Online Safety Act [1, 2, 6, 8]. The messaging service faces a maximum civil penalty of AU$54.6 million (about US$38 million) if found in breach of the law [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9].
Between September 27 and October 5, 2025, Australian users reported 12 instances of pro-terror and violent content on Telegram. At least 10 of those posts remained unremoved for more than 20 days, indicating Telegram’s failure to act promptly [3, 5, 7]. Telegram’s terms of service reportedly do not explicitly ban pro-terror material on all parts of the platform, and users who reported content were not always informed of the outcome [8].
Telegram has over 1 billion monthly active global users and receives approximately 1.5 million visits monthly from Australian users [2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9]. The company is registered in the United Arab Emirates. Its founder Pavel Durov, a Russian-born entrepreneur, moved the headquarters to Dubai in 2017 [1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9].
Durov has faced multiple investigations, including a 2024 French probe over alleged failures to moderate criminal content [1, 6, 7, 9]. On July 29, 2026, Russia charged him with facilitating terrorism, claiming Telegram was used by Ukrainian secret services to organize attacks in Russia, and issued an international arrest warrant for him [1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9].
Julie Inman Grant stressed that no platform is above the law and digital services must meet community protection obligations amid heightened security concerns following the 2025 Bondi antisemitic mass shooting. She said, "When platforms are alerted to terrorist content, they must act" and added, "This should concern all of us. We're talking about the most seriously harmful online material and Australian law requires services across the online ecosystem to take responsibility for the role they play in allowing this material to be disseminated" [1, 3, 6, 7, 8].
Telegram denies the allegations and stated through a spokesperson, "Telegram's efforts in the fight against terrorism are well documented. We reject these allegations and will contest them in court" [1, 3, 5, 7, 9].
