Apple briefly yanked Telegram from the App Store over CSAM violations
The Verge · LC · trust 39/100
Tech Close Tech Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Apple Close Apple Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Apps Close Apps Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Telegram came back to the App Store after it took down the illegal content and banned the user who posted it.
Telegram came back to the App Store after it took down the illegal content and banned the user who posted it.
Emma Roth Close Emma Roth News Writer Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Share Gift Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Emma Roth Close Emma Roth Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Telegram is back on the App Store after Apple briefly removed it on Monday night over concerns about child sexual abuse material (CSAM). In a statement to Bloomberg ’s Mark Gurman , Apple says a review found that Telegram “violates our strict guidelines prohibiting child sexual abuse material,” adding that it restored the app “after the developer promptly removed the content and banned the user who posted it.”
Telegram responded to Apple’s statement in a post on X , saying: “I’m sure this stance will be applied equally to all other apps in the store, in the future, right?” Telegram also includes a link to its safety overview page , which says the messaging app “blocks tens of thousands of groups and channels daily and removes millions of pieces of content” that violate its policies.
“Apple was wrong to disrupt the legitimate communication of a billion people over the actions of a single user,” Telegram spokesperson Remi Vaughn says in a statement to The Verge . Vaughn adds that Telegram has removed more than 337,900 groups and channels related to CSAM in 2026.
Apple didn’t immediately respond to The Verge ’s request for comment.
In 2018, Apple similarly removed Telegram from the App Store due to the presence of CSAM. Telegram’s moderation policies have come under fire in recent years, with French authorities arresting its CEO Pavel Durov in 2024 and charging him with enabling illegal transactions and complicity in the distribution of CSAM. The messaging app disabled some “misused” features and changed its approach to private chats as a result.
Update, August 4th: Added a statement from Telegram.
Emma Roth Close Emma Roth News Writer Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Apple Close Apple Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Apps Close Apps Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Tech Close Tech Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Big Walk is like co-op Breath of the Wild Spider-Man and The Odyssey are splitting up IMAX screens after a record-breaking weekend The Verge Daily A free daily digest of the news that matters most.
Read the original at The Verge →
Open in TruthVane →