Australia's eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman-Grant, has launched Federal Court action against Telegram, alleging the messaging platform failed to remove "pro-terror" material, including footage of the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings, despite being formally notified. Telegram could face a fine of up to A$54.6m (£28m/$38m) for breaching its obligations under Australia's Online Safety Act, in a case that comes as governments worldwide step up scrutiny of the platform's content moderation, including separate legal action against founder Pavel Durov in Russia and France.

Inman-Grant said her agency began questioning Telegram's handling of extremist content in March 2024 and endured "five very difficult months of unresponsiveness" before the platform started engaging, though she alleged it retained a "permissive environment" where such material remained "very easy to find". Other content cited includes video of the 2022 Buffalo shooting and terrorist execution footage, and she referenced the recent Bondi Jewish festival attack as underscoring the stakes. Telegram said its anti-terrorism efforts were "well documented" and it would contest the allegations in court; Australia was separately fined Telegram A$1m in February 2025 for missing deadlines on similar questions, and the commissioner noted, though has never used, powers to seek a court order ceasing the service in Australia.