Telegram’s App Store removal was a short global suspension that Apple says followed a review finding content that violated its rules against child sexual abuse material. Apple restored the messaging app the same day after Telegram removed the content and banned the user who posted it, according to Reuters.
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has offered a more detailed explanation, alleging that the post was part of an extortion scheme. That allegation has not been independently confirmed in the available reporting.
Why did Apple remove Telegram from the App Store?
An Apple spokesperson said the company’s review found material that breached its guidelines prohibiting child sexual abuse material, or CSAM. Apple said Telegram was returned to the store after the developer promptly took down the content and banned the account responsible.
Telegram said Apple had identified one user who shared CSAM and that the account was immediately banned. Reuters reported that the app was removed and reinstated on the same day.
The immediate consequence was a temporary loss of App Store availability for new iPhone users. Existing Telegram users could keep using the service during the interruption, Forbes reported.
What is Durov alleging?
In a public post, Durov claimed an attacker placed AI-modified illegal material into an older message in an active public group by editing that message. He said the edit made the material less visible to group members, preventing them from seeing and reporting it promptly.
Durov characterized the alleged attacker as a “takedown extortionist,” meaning someone who seeks payment from group owners in exchange for not targeting their communities. He further alleged that such actors use automated accounts to add prohibited content to public groups, then report it to Apple in an attempt to get communities removed.
Those are Durov’s claims, rather than findings confirmed by Apple. Apple’s public statement addressed the content violation, its temporary removal of Telegram, and the app’s restoration after Telegram’s action. It did not address Durov’s allegation that Apple removed the app before contacting the company.
Durov said the incident could pose a risk for apps that host user-generated content. The available evidence establishes only this incident: Apple reviewed Telegram, found prohibited material, and restored the app after Telegram removed it and banned the posting user.
Telegram has faced earlier enforcement and scrutiny
This was not Telegram’s first temporary App Store suspension. Reuters reported that Apple also pulled the service in 2018 over content concerns, restoring it after Telegram added safeguards.
The platform has also faced regulatory scrutiny over CSAM and other illegal material. Reuters reported that Britain’s Ofcom opened an investigation in April into evidence suggesting CSAM sharing on Telegram. Australia’s online-safety regulator fined Telegram in February for delays in responding to questions about measures addressing child-abuse and violent-extremist material.
Telegram says it has removed nearly 338,000 groups and channels over CSAM-related material this year. That figure is the company’s own claim, not an independently audited measure of its moderation system.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.
