Messaging platform, Telegram, said it has blocked 15.4 million groups and channels in 2024 as part of an intensified crackdown on harmful content, including fraud, terrorism, and child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
The company revealed these measures in a statement on its newly launched moderation page, which aims to improve transparency around its content moderation efforts.
This development follows the recent arrest of Telegram’s founder, Pavel Durov, in France over accusations of poor content moderation on Telegram, which allegedly made the platform a haven for terrorists and drug traffickers.
The French case is still pending is still pending, but Durov is currently out on €5 million bail.
Enhanced moderation with AI tools
The platform credited its progress to the deployment of cutting-edge AI moderation tools.
- According to the moderation report Telegram now blocks tens of thousands of groups and channels daily, removing millions of pieces of content that violate its Terms of Service.
- These include materials that incite violence, promote terrorism, or facilitate illegal trade.
- Telegram reiterated its zero-tolerance policy for Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM), noting that in 2024 alone, it blocked 705,688 groups and channels related to such content.
Since 2018, public images have been automatically checked against a hash database of CSAM banned by our moderators over the past decade. In 2024, we expanded this database with hashes from organizations like the Internet Watch Foundation,” it stated.
It added that daily transparency reports on CSAM removal are now a core component of Telegram’s commitment to combating such content.
Anti-terrorism efforts intensified
Telegram disclosed that it blocked 129,986 terrorist-related communities in 2024. The platform maintains that “calls to violence and terrorist propaganda have no place on Telegram.”
“Since 2022, Telegram has significantly scaled its efforts in partnership with organizations like ETIDAL, the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology.
“Through its collaboration with ETIDAL alone, Telegram’s moderators have removed over 100 million pieces of terrorist content,” the company stated.
Backstory
Durov, the Russian Billionaire founder of Telegram, was arrested in France on August 24, 2024, upon touching down at the airport to honour French President Emmanuel Macron’s invitation to dinner.
- He was charged on several counts of failing to curb extremist and illegal content on the popular messaging app which now has over 900 million followers but has become increasingly controversial.
- He was later granted conditional release on a bail of five million euros and on the condition he must report to a police station twice a week as well as remaining in France.
- In his first official response after his release, Durov addressed Telegram’s challenges in moderating content but also stated that Telegram already has a European Union compliance officer who oversees Telegram’s compliance with EU laws.
He also criticized the approach of holding Tech founders culpable for the actions of its users as misguided.
