Apple Suspends Telegram for Child Pornography, Then Reinstates It

Apple has temporarily removed Telegram from the App Store. The reason: the presence of child pornography, a violation of the Cupertino company's strict guidelines prohibiting any such content. An internal review identified the infringing content.

"The app was later reinstated after the developer promptly removed the content and banned the user who posted it," Apple said. Meanwhile, new downloads were blocked. A sarcastic message appeared on the official Telegram channel: "Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated," accompanied by an apple emoji. Founder Pavel Durov was arrested in France in 2024 on charges of failing to adequately address abuse on the platform.

Last month, Russia's financial regulator placed it on its list of terrorists and extremists. Telegram remains one of the world's most popular messaging services (over a billion users according to industry estimates) and carries a large amount of content in Russian, from both official sources and Kremlin opponents. It is not banned in Russia, but can only be accessed via VPN.