Ofcom probes Telegram over alleged child sexual abuse material

On Tuesday Ofcom opened an assessment of Telegram to determine whether the messaging app met duties under the UK’s Online Safety Act after receiving material from the Canadian Centre for Child Protection alleging child sexual abuse content was present and shared on the platform. The law requires services that allow user-to-user messaging to identify such risks and take steps to reduce them.

The regulator will examine how Telegram assessed and managed risk, how it handled reports, and what tools it used to detect and remove abusive content. Ofcom indicated the assessment will form part of wider enforcement work under the Online Safety Act.

The probe comes days after Telegram said it has more than 1 billion users worldwide. Ofcom also opened separate investigations into Teen Chat and Chat Avenue to assess whether those services provided adequate protection for British children from grooming.

Telegram denied the allegations in a statement, asserting that since 2018 it has “virtually eliminated the public spread of [child sexual abuse material] on its platform through world-class detection algorithms and co-operation with NGOs.” The company described the probe as unexpected and suggested it could be linked to broader pressure on platforms that prioritize privacy and free expression.

Founder Pavel Durov posted on his Telegram channel criticizing Western regulators, writing: “This is how the EU/UK now regulates social media: Offer CEOs secret deals to censor dissent. If they refuse, open criminal cases against them. When people push back, say it’s ‘all for the children’. ‘Protecting children’ has become the standard legal/PR cover.”

Durov was detained for questioning in France in 2024 over claims Telegram did not do enough to moderate criminal activity; he denied those claims and that inquiry remains ongoing.

Telegram has faced separate regulatory pressure in Russia. A Moscow court fined the company 7 million rubles (about $93,000) for failing to remove content calling for extremist activity. Russia’s communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, has reported roughly 150,000 unfulfilled requests to remove banned content, including material involving child abuse and drug-related posts, and has threatened to slow the service. Unpaid fines in Russia now total nearly 50 million rubles (about $666,000).

Ofcom noted that its work under the Online Safety Act has already led six file-sharing providers to withdraw services from the UK over safety concerns. The regulator did not provide a timetable for the Telegram assessment but said it will review technical and policy measures, cooperation with nongovernmental organisations and law enforcement, and how the platform responds to reports of abuse.