eSafety, an independent government agency responsible for regulating online safety in Australia, has launched legal proceedings against Telegram over alleged failings to adequately tackle terrorist content.

The civil penalty proceedings following a year-long investigation into Telegram's compliance with Australia's Online Safety Act.

The regulator claims Telegram did not take sufficient steps to prevent, detect, deter, and disrupt the spread of unlawful material, including pro-terror content, child sexual exploitation material, and extreme violent content, as required under Australia's online safety codes and standards.

According to eSafety, Telegram failed to remove publicly available terrorist content after becoming aware of it. The regulator said videos of terrorist executions remained accessible for up to three weeks after Australian users reported them.

The regulator also alleges that Telegram failed to reduce the risk of repeat breaches by removing the accounts, channels, and groups responsible for distributing the material.

eSafety also claims Telegram failed to effectively disrupt the spread of terrorist content, did not prohibit users from accessing or sharing pro-terror material across all parts of the platform through its terms of service, and failed to inform users about the outcome of complaints relating to unlawful content.

If the Federal Court finds Telegram breached the legislation, the platform could face civil penalties of up to 54.6 million Australian dollars (£28.4 million).

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said the continued proliferation of pro-terror material and extreme violence on services such as Telegram risks normalising extremist content, causing real harm to Australians who are exposed to it, and facilitating recruitment and radicalisation of at-risk individuals.

“This case concerns content linked to some of the most notorious acts of known extremist violence in recent history, including material associated with the Christchurch and Buffalo terror attacks. We allege that this content remained accessible on the service long after Telegram had been put on notice,” she added.

Grant pointed out that Telegram has over a billion users worldwide and is visited by Australians on average 1.5 million times a month. It provides groups for up to 200,000 users, as well as channels for wider “broadcasts” with no maximum limit.

“No platform is above the law and this action demonstrates that eSafety will not hesitate to use the full range of its powers to protect Australians.”

National Technology News has reached out to Telegram for comment.

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