Australia fines Telegram A$1M for delayed responses to online safety inquiry News
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Australia fines Telegram A$1M for delayed responses to online safety inquiry

Australia’s eSafety Commission on Monday imposed an almost $1 million (equivalent to US$640,000) fine on the encrypted messaging platform Telegram for its failure to timely respond to the concerned regulatory inquiries regarding its efforts to combat child abuse and extremist content.

In March 2024, the commission mandated Telegram and other tech firms, including Meta and Google, to disclose measures undertaken by the firms to prevent the spread of harmful materials. Although most companies responded by the May deadline, Telegram submitted its action plan in October, 160 days past the due date.

“Telegram took 160 days to provide information that was asked in the reporting notice, and providing this information so late has obstructed eSafety from delivering its functions under the Online Safety Act for almost half a year,” stated Julie Inman Grant, the eSafety commissioner, while emphasizing the importance of transparency.

Telegram contested the penalty as “unfair and disproportionate,” emphasizing their intention to appeal. If the company refuses to pay the penalty amount, the commission has the liberty to pursue civil penalties through the federal court. A 2024 Five Eyes report identified Telegram as a medium for radicalization, where almost one-fifth of the Australian counter-terrorism cases involve minors.

Australia’s Online Safety Act grants the eSafety Board authority to compel companies to address harmful content. The regulator has previously clashed with other platforms, including X (formerly Twitter), which is challenging a separate A$610,000 fine for non-compliance in an ongoing tribunal case. The eSafety Commissioner said in a statement:

If we want accountability from the tech industry we need much greater transparency. These powers give us a look under the hood at just how these platforms are dealing, or not dealing, with a range of serious and egregious online harms which affect Australians.

The commission will publish a full report in March, together with the responses from Telegram, Meta, Google and Reddit.

The enforcement follows the heightened global scrutiny of Telegram. In August 2024, the French authorities charged CEO Pavel Durov for failing to curb illegal content after putting him under formal custody. Despite being released on bail, Durov is not allowed to leave the territory of France. Since the detention, Telegram has increased transparency, publishing its first law enforcement request report in 2024, which disclosed its compliance with 14 Australian data requests, which affected 23 users.

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