Australian cybersecurity agency sues Telegram for failing to remove terrorist content, seeking AUD 54.6 million in damages

Australian eSafety Commissioner has formally filed a civil lawsuit against Telegram in Australia’s Federal Court, accusing the messaging platform of systematically violating its cybersecurity obligations under the country’s Cyber Security Act. Following a year-long investigation, the regulator alleges Telegram failed to remove flagged content after receiving reports from Australian users—including terrorist execution videos, some of which remained accessible for up to three weeks post-report. The regulator further claims the platform did not detect known terror-supporting content, such as the 2019 Christchurch mosque shooting livestream and content related to the May 2022 Buffalo mass shooting; these pieces of content were not removed until nearly three months after upload. Additionally, the eSafety Commissioner accuses Telegram of failing to remove associated accounts, channels and groups to prevent future violations, failing to uphold uniform terms of service banning terror-supporting content across the platform, and failing to provide reporters with updates on case outcomes. Under Australian law, violations of relevant rules and standards carry a maximum civil penalty of 54.6 million Australian dollars. eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant stated the content in question is linked to some of the most notorious acts of extreme violence in recent history, and remained accessible long after Telegram received notification of it. The lawsuit comes as Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has just charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with aiding terrorism and issued an international arrest warrant against him, leaving the platform facing legal pressure from multiple jurisdictions simultaneously.