Australian internet watchdog fines Telegram nearly $1 million
Australia's internet watchdog has fined Telegram almost $1 million ($635,000 US) for a delay in reporting about terrorism and child abuse material.
eSafety asked Telegram, along with other social media sites, about measures they had in place to tackle terrorist and violent extremist material on their services. Telegram was also asked about the measures it was taking to combat child sexual abuse material.
On Monday, eSafety said other platforms had met the May 6, 2024, deadline, but Telegram didn't respond until October 31.
"eSafety considered Telegram to be non-compliant with the transparency notice and has given it an infringement notice for $957,780."
eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant said the infringement notice sent an important message to industry that timely transparency was not a voluntary requirement in Australia.
"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," she said.
Inman Grant said the threat posed by terrorist and extremist material shared and promoted online posed a growing risk and tech providers must live up to their responsibilities to be transparent and put in place measures to prevent their services being misused.
"Research and observation have shown us that this material can normalise, desensitise and sometimes radicalise – especially the young who are viewing harmful material online that they cannot unsee."
Telegram has 28 days to request the withdrawal of the infringement notice, pay it, or seek an extension to pay.
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