4. Aug 2026
Description
(AWP Alliance News) - Apple briefly removed the Telegram messaging app from its App Store due to the distribution of child sexual abuse material, Apple said on Monday.
A review had found content that violated Apple's strict guidelines prohibiting child sexual abuse material, it said.
"The app was subsequently restored after the developer promptly removed the content and banned the user who posted it," Apple said.
The messaging app was briefly unavailable for new downloads.
Telegram wrote on X that "reports of my demise are greatly exaggerated," alongside an apple emoji.
The founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, was arrested in France in 2024 on the grounds that his messaging service failed to prevent misuse.
Last month, Russia's top financial supervisory authority added Durov to its list of terrorists and extremists.
The messaging service disseminates vast amounts of content in Russian, from both official sources and opponents of the Kremlin. Telegram is not banned in Russia, but it can only be used with an encrypted internet connection, or virtual private network.
Telegram has more than 1 billion users worldwide, according to industry estimates.
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