Apple briefly removes Telegram from App Store over child abuse content

Apple briefly removed Telegram from its App Store worldwide after identifying content that violated its policies on child sexual abuse material (CSAM), before restoring the messaging platform later the same day after corrective action was taken.

An Apple spokesperson said the company found content that breached its App Store guidelines prohibiting child sexual abuse material, Reuters reports.

"The app was subsequently restored after the developer promptly removed the content and banned the user who posted it," the spokesperson said.

Telegram confirmed that Apple had reported a single user for sharing child sexual abuse material. The platform said it immediately removed the content and suspended the account, allowing the app to return to the App Store on the same day.

The incident marks the second such removal since 2018, when Apple temporarily suspended Telegram over what founder Pavel Durov at the time described as "inappropriate content." The app was later reinstated after Telegram strengthened its moderation safeguards.

Telegram, which says it has more than one billion monthly active users, reiterated that it maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward child sexual abuse material. According to the company, it has blocked nearly 338,000 groups and channels linked to such content since the beginning of the year.

Responding to the incident on X, Telegram questioned whether Apple would apply the same standard across all applications available in the App Store.

"I'm sure this stance will be applied equally to all other apps in the store, in the future, right? Apple," the company wrote.

The decision also drew criticism from Epic Games Chief Executive Tim Sweeney, whose company has been engaged in a long-running legal dispute with Apple.

"Apple has stated they removed the app from availability to a billion users because a Telegram user posted something horrible and illegal," Sweeney wrote on X.

"They did not elaborate on how, if that is the standard for app removal, any communications app could operate at scale, including iMessage."

Telegram has faced increasing regulatory scrutiny over its handling of child sexual abuse material and other illegal content. In April, Britain's communications regulator Ofcom launched an investigation into evidence suggesting the platform had been used to share child sexual abuse material. Telegram "categorically" denied the allegations, saying that since 2018 it has "virtually eliminated" the public dissemination of such material through automated detection systems.

In February, Australia's online safety regulator fined Telegram for delaying its response to questions regarding measures to combat child abuse material and violent extremist content on the platform.

By Vafa Guliyeva