Australian authorities are suing Telegram for allegedly failing to remove terrorism-related content, including video of the March 2019 shooting at a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, in which 51 people were murdered, multiple media outlets reported Thursday.
Julie Inman-Grant, Australia’s security commissioner, said the messaging app founded by Pavel Durov faced a fine of up to $38 million for failing to comply with its obligations under the Online Safety Act, the BBC reported.
“This case involves content related to some of the most notorious acts of extremist violence in recent history, including material associated with the Christchurch and Buffalo terrorist attacks,” Inman-Grant said in a statement, according to Reuters.
“We reject these allegations and will challenge them in court,” a Telegram spokesperson said in response to a Reuters request for comment. Telegram’s counterterrorism efforts are well documented, with thousands of extremist communities blocked by the platform in 2026 alone, the spokesperson told the news agency.
Telegram, which hosts numerous crypto-related newsgroups hosting project communities, trading groups, bots, and blockchain-based mini-apps, did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment from CoinDesk.
