Australia's online safety regulator on Monday fined messaging platform Telegram about A$1 million ($640,000) for its delay in answering questions about measures the app took to prevent the spread of child abuse and violent extremist material.
The e-Safety Commission in March 2024 sought responses from social media platforms YouTube, X and Facebook to Telegram and Reddit, and blamed them for not doing enough to stop extremists from using live-streaming features, algorithms and recommendation systems to recruit users.
Telegram and Reddit were asked about the steps they were taking to combat child sexual abuse material on their services. They had to respond by May but Telegram submitted its response in October.
"Timely transparency is not a voluntary requirement in Australia and this action reinforces the importance of all companies complying with Australian law," eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said in a statement.
Telegram's delay in providing information obstructed eSafety from implementing its online safety measures, Grant said.
Australia's spy agency in December said one in five priority counter-terrorism cases investigated involved youths.
The messaging platform has been under growing scrutiny around the world since its founder Pavel Durov was placed under formal investigation in France in August in connection with alleged use of the app for illegal activities.
Durov, who is out on bail, has denied the allegations.
Grant said Big Tech must be transparent and put in place measures to prevent their services from being misused as the threat posed by online extremist materials poses a growing risk.
"If we want accountability from the tech industry we need much greater transparency. These powers give us a look under the hood at just how these platforms are dealing, or not dealing, with a range of serious and egregious online harms which affect Australians," Grant said.
If Telegram choose to ignore the penalty notice, eSafety would seek a civil penalty in the court, Grant said.
($1 = 1.5625 Australian dollars)
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Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 17th of November, covering the latest developments you need to know.
The pilot of an Indian fighter jet performing in the Dubai Air Show lost his life after the aircraft crashed during an aerial display on Friday.
Indonesian authorities evacuated more than 900 people from nearby villages and were helping 170 stranded climbers return safely after the eruption of Semeru volcano, one of the country's tallest mountains.
Germany has returned 12 royal-era cultural artefacts to Ethiopia in a ceremony in Addis Ababa, marking a formal step in ongoing cultural cooperation between the two countries.
An off-the-cuff remark by new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi that triggered Japan's biggest bust-up in years with powerful neighbour China was not meant to signal a new hardline stance.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry has announced plans by Tehran to bring together Afghanistan's neighbouring states including Russia and China in a regional meeting aimed at addressing ongoing tensions with Pakistan.
President Donald Trump will meet with incoming New York mayor Zohran Mamdani on Friday, the first in-person talks between political opposites who have clashed over everything from immigration to economic policy.
Five tourists were killed in a powerful snowstorm in Chile's Torres del Paine National Park, in the southern region of Patagonia, authorities said, adding that four more who were reported missing had been found alive.
Japan is awaiting a decision on Friday from Niigata Prefecture Governor Hideyo Hanazumi on whether the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant can restart some reactors for the first time since the Fukushima disaster.
The pilot of an Indian fighter jet performing in the Dubai Air Show lost his life after the aircraft crashed during an aerial display on Friday.
European Union support for Ukraine will continue, as the country is the victim of aggression, stated Ursula von der Leyen, President of the EU Commission, on Friday. She added that sanctions imposed on Russia are having a significant impact on its economy.
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