Telegram faces the heat! Australia’s e-security commissioner has launched civil proceedings against Telegram in the Federal Court over allegations it failed to remove terrorism-related content.
Interestingly, this comes just a day after Russia accused founder Pavel Durov of also contributing to terrorism.
Australia sues Telegram over alleged pro-terrorist content
Australia’s Electronic Security Commissioner launched civil proceedings against Telegram in the Federal Court on Thursday. The platform is accused of not having responded to reports of pro-terrorist content.
The regulator said its year-long investigation found some flagged documents remained online for up to three weeks. It said Telegram failed to remove accounts, groups and channels sharing such content or detect known extremist images.
If found to have breached the Online Safety Act, Telegram could face penalties of up to A$54.6 million ($35.8 million).
The company has not responded officially. However, a cheeky X-post is doing the rounds.
Russia indicts Durov for alleged Telegram terrorist activities
AMBCrypto previously reported that the Russian Federal Security Service had accused Telegram founder Pavel Durov of helping to facilitate terrorist activities. The FSB claims to have formally charged him and says that an international arrest warrant has been issued.
Russian officials say Telegram failed to remove channels, group chats and bots allegedly used by Ukrainian intelligence services, terrorist groups and extremist organizations. They claim these tools supported attack planning, recruitment and cyber fraud.
Durov is also under investigation in France over allegations that Telegram enabled illegal activities.
GRAM not strongly affected?
With growing legal pressure around Telegram and Durov, the response from the native GRAM token has been relatively controlled. However, traders still seem to be taking a few steps back.
On the 1h chartGRAM was trading near $1.42 after falling 2.3% at the time of going to press. His RSI was at 51.34therefore the rhythm is neutral.
The most important change, however, concerns the derivatives market. Aggregate open interest has dropped significantly to around $43.3 million; traders can close positions during uncertainty.
Funding was positive 0.0037%there is therefore a slight preference for long positions. If legal developments continue to intensify, GRAM could face additional selling pressure.
Final Summary
- Australia has launched civil proceedings against Telegram a day after Russia stepped up its criminal prosecution of founder Pavel Durov.
- GRAM remained relatively stable near $1.42, although the decline in open interest suggests traders are reducing exposure as legal uncertainty persists.
