The Telegram app was briefly removed from Apple's App Store worldwide after the iPhone maker reported that one user shared "child sexual abuse material," the messenger said on Tuesday, reports UNN citing Reuters.
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This incident follows a similar block in 2018, when Apple temporarily removed Telegram over materials that the app's founder, Pavel Durov, called "unacceptable content," but the app was later restored after Telegram strengthened its security measures.
An Apple spokesperson confirmed the recent brief removal, stating that during a review, content was found that violates rules prohibiting materials that ban child sexual abuse material.
"The app was subsequently restored after the developer promptly removed the content and blocked the user who posted it," the spokesperson added.
The app was removed and restored the same day after Telegram took action.
Telegram, which has over a billion active users monthly, says it has a zero-tolerance policy for child sexual abuse material, having blocked nearly 338,000 groups and channels for such content this year.
"I am confident that in the future this stance will be applied equally to all other apps in the store, right? Apple," Telegram wrote on X in response to a user's post sharing Apple's statement.
Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, creator of Fortnite, who has been in legal battles with Apple for years, questioned the decision of the American tech giant.
"Apple said it removed the app from access to a billion users because a Telegram user posted something horrible and illegal," Sweeney wrote on X. "They did not clarify how, if this is the standard for removing apps, any communication app can operate at such scale, including iMessage."
An Apple spokesperson did not respond to a request for further comment on the rule violation.
Telegram, the publication writes, drew regulators' attention for its handling of child sexual abuse material and other illegal content back in April, when the UK's Ofcom launched an investigation into evidence suggesting the spread of child sexual abuse material.
Telegram "categorically" denied the regulator's accusations, adding that since 2018 it has "virtually eradicated" public distribution of child sexual abuse material using detection algorithms.
In February, the Australian online safety regulator also fined Telegram for delays in responding to requests about measures taken to curb child abuse material and violent extremist behavior.
Telegram domain has stopped opening worldwide due to a DNS failure14.07.26, 05:57