Australia targets Telegram one day after Russia charges Durov
The platform could face an AUD 54.6 million penalty over its alleged failure to remove pro-terror content.
Telegram is facing the heat! Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has launched civil penalty proceedings against Telegram in the Federal Court, over claims that it failed to remove terrorism-linked content.
Interestingly, this comes just a day after Russia accused founder Pavel Durov with aiding terrorism as well.
Australia takes Telegram to court over alleged pro-terror content
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner launched civil penalty proceedings against Telegram in Federal Court on Thursday. The platform is accused of failing to act on reports of pro-terror content.
The regulator said its year-long investigation found that some flagged material remained online, for up to three weeks. It stated that Telegram failed to remove accounts, groups and channels that share such content or detect known extremist footage.
If found to have breached the Online Safety Act, Telegram could face penalties of up to AUD 54.6 million [$35.8 million].
The company has not formally responded. However, a cheeky X post is making the rounds.
Russia charged Durov over Telegram’s alleged terrorist activity
AMBCrypto previously reported that Russia’s Federal Security Service had accused Telegram founder Pavel Durov of helping facilitate terrorist activity. The FSB says it has formally charged him, and says an international arrest warrant has been issued.
Russian officials claim Telegram failed to remove channels, group chats, and bots allegedly used by Ukrainian intelligence, terrorist groups, and extremist organizations. They say these tools supported attack planning, recruitment, and cyber fraud.
Durov is also being investigated in France over claims that Telegram enabled illegal activity.
GRAM not greatly affected?
With legal pressure building around Telegram and Durov, native token GRAM’s response has been relatively controlled. However, traders still seem to be taking a few steps back.
On the 1h chart, GRAM traded near $1.42 after falling about 2.3% at press time. Its RSI was at 51.34, so pace is neutral.
The bigger change, however, was in the derivatives market. Aggregated Open Interest fell greatly to about $43.3 million; traders may be closing positions during the uncertainty.
Funding was positive at 0.0037%, so there’s a mild preference for long positions. If legal developments continue to escalate, GRAM could face additional selling pressure.
Final Summary
- Australia has launched civil penalty proceedings against Telegram a day after Russia escalated its criminal case against founder Pavel Durov.
- GRAM remained relatively stable near $1.42, although declining Open Interest suggests traders are reducing exposure while legal uncertainty persists.
