Telegram CEO Issues Statement After Apple Briefly Removed App From Store

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Telegram CEO Pavel Durov said Apple briefly removed the instant messaging app from its store because a “user had planted illegal porn in a public chat.”

“Telegram was restored within hours. But I want to explain what happened — to warn other app developers and help protect online communities from similar attacks. Because Telegram quickly removes illegal content from public groups using all kinds of moderation tools, the attacker had to resort to a technical trick. He inserted AI-modified illegal content by editing an old message in an active group chat. As a result the content was effectively hidden from the group’s members, preventing them from seeing/reporting it,” Durov explained.

“The attacker was a takedown extortionist: someone who demands ransom from group owners in exchange for not targeting their communities. These extortionists use automated accounts to plant illegal content in public groups and then report it directly to Apple, attempting to trigger the removal of legitimate communities whose owners refused to pay them. From a practical standpoint, illegal pornographic content in Telegram’s public groups is not a systemic problem. Our moderation is effective. The fact that attackers must resort to backdated, effectively invisible content and other technical tricks proves this,” he continued.

Durov offered two important lessons for app developers and online communities:

  • “Extortionists have found a way to manipulate Apple into overreacting. Apple removed Telegram from the App Store before contacting us. This creates a potential systemic risk for every mobile app that hosts user-generated content. If an app used by more than a billion people can be removed from the App Store without prior warning, any app can be.”
  • “The tactics used by takedown extortionists are evolving, putting communities across social platforms at risk. Telegram has extensive experience identifying the tricks used by coordinated reporting gangs and protecting legitimate communities (even when doing so risks our own app being temporarily removed from the App Store). Other platforms may not be equally prepared.”

Reuters has more:

The incident follows a similar suspension ‌in 2018, when Apple temporarily pulled Telegram for material the app’s founder Pavel Durov called “inappropriate content” at the time, only to be restored after Telegram beefed up safeguards.

An Apple spokesperson confirmed the recent brief removal, saying ​its review found content that violated guidelines prohibiting child sexual abuse material.

“The app was ​subsequently restored after the developer promptly removed the content and banned the user ⁠who posted it,” the spokesperson added.

The app was removed and restored on the same day, ​after Telegram took action.

Telegram, which has more than a billion monthly active users, says it has ​a zero-tolerance policy for material on child sexual abuse, blocking nearly 338,000 groups and channels over such items this year.

“I’m sure this stance will be applied equally to all other apps in the store, in the future, ​right? Apple,” Telegram posted on X in response to a user who shared the Apple ​statement.

“reports of my demise are greatly exaggerated 🍎,” Telegram’s official X account posted.

“silence, mortals. the founder has spoken,” it posted after Durov’s statement.

Forbes shared further:

Even though the app was restored after a short ban, the billionaire co-founder and CEO of the gaming company Epic Games called out Apple’s handling of the matter. Sweeney, who brought a high-profile antitrust case against Apple and has been a prominent critic of its 30% App Store fee, wrote: “Apple’s App Store desperately needs competition worldwide. Apple capriciously removes a vital communication and privacy tool from availability to a billion users, and sadly this is business as usual.” He added: “Apple has stated they removed the app from availability to a billion users because a Telegram user posted something horrible and illegal…Such arbitrary policy enforcement, by a monopoly gatekeeper, creates a perfect storm of fear and acquiescence by developers who are victims of Apple’s monopoly.”

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