Australia sues Telegram for breaching online safety law

Australia's online safety regulator has initiated legal proceedings against the global messaging platform Telegram, alleging it failed to remove videos of terrorist executions and mass shootings. The eSafety Commissioner filed civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court on July 29, 2026, following a year-long investigation into the platform's compliance with national online safety laws.

The regulator alleges that Telegram did not act on reports from Australian users about pro-terror content, including material linked to the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings and the 2022 Buffalo supermarket shooting. According to the court filing, some of this content remained accessible on the platform for up to three weeks after being reported, with other material available for nearly three months before removal. The watchdog further accuses Telegram of failing to suspend or block accounts that posted the unlawful material and of not effectively deterring its distribution.

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant stated that the case concerns content linked to some of the most notorious acts of known extremist violence in recent history. She alleged that this content remained accessible long...