Australia’s eSafety Commission has filed a civil lawsuit against Telegram in the Federal Court, according to an official statement from the regulator, as reported by Cointelegraph.
“The messaging platform violated the requirements of the Online Safety Act by failing to remove terrorist content even after receiving user complaints,” the statement says.
The investigation lasted for about a year. During that time, the regulator concluded that Telegram left illegal content accessible for several weeks after receiving notifications and failed to take sufficient measures to prevent it from being shared again. The lawsuit also alleges that the service did not block accounts, channels, and groups that distributed pro-terrorist material, despite repeated violations.
If found to have violated Australian law, Telegram could face a fine of up to AUD 54.6 M, or approximately $35.8 M.
The case adds to the growing pressure on Telegram, whose approach to content moderation has increasingly come under scrutiny from authorities in different countries. Previously, Telegram and its founder, Pavel Durov, also drew the attention of law enforcement agencies in Russia and France.