The BBC has learned that Telegram, the messaging app service whose boss has been arrested in France, is refusing to join international programmes aimed at detecting and removing child abuse material online. The app, which boasts more than 950 million registered users, is not a member of either the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) or the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), both of which work with most online platforms to find, report, and remove such material.
The founder and chief executive of Telegram, billionaire Pavel Durov, has been detained in France over alleged offenses relating to a lack of moderation on the platform. Officials have accused the 39-year-old of failure to cooperate with law enforcement over drug trafficking, child sexual content, and fraud.
Telegram claims to proactively moderate harmful content on its platform, including child abuse material, and insists that its moderation is within industry standards and constantly improving. However, unlike other social networks, Telegram has not signed up for programmes like NCMEC’s CyberTipline, which has more than 1,600 internet companies registered.
US-based firms are legally required to sign up for these programmes, but 16% of the participating companies are not based in the US. Telegram, based in Dubai where Durov resides, has been unresponsive to requests from NCMEC and IWF to join efforts to tackle child sexual abuse material.
While Telegram does remove confirmed child sexual abuse material, it is slower and less responsive to day-to-day requests compared to other platforms. The company’s refusal to join child protection schemes and lack of transparency reporting have raised concerns about its commitment to combating online child abuse.
Telegram’s unique approach to media inquiries, through an automated bot on the app, has also raised questions about its accountability and transparency. Despite its popularity in Russia, Ukraine, and former Soviet Union states, Telegram’s reluctance to participate in industry-standard practices for combating child abuse material is drawing criticism and scrutiny.
