Ofcom, the British digital regulator, recently announced that it has initiated enforcement proceedings against the messaging application Telegram in accordance with the Online Safety Act because there is evidence of the dissemination of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on the platform. The investigation will focus on assessing whether Telegram has fulfilled its compliance obligations under the legal framework to prevent the spread of CSAM.
Ofcom said it works with a number of law enforcement and child protection agencies to identify platforms used by criminals to share illegal content. The regulator recently received an evidence report from the Canadian Center for Child Protection alleging the existence and spread of CSAM on Telegram, which triggered this formal investigation process.
In addition to Telegram, Ofcom also announced the launch of an investigation into two youth-oriented chat websites, Teen Chat and Chat Avenue, to verify whether they are fulfilling their responsibilities in preventing minors from being induced and "groomed" by predators. According to the "Online Security Law", all platforms that provide user-to-user direct interaction services have legal obligations to proactively combat and block the spread of CSAM.
Ofcom pointed out that if the investigation results determine that the relevant platform is illegal, it has the right to require the platform to take specific corrective measures to ensure legal and compliant operations. Tougher sanctions include fines of up to £18 million or 10% of global qualifying revenue, whichever is higher. If the platform still refuses to make corrections despite regulatory requirements, Ofcom can apply to the court to block relevant services in the UK, or require payment service providers, advertisers, etc. to stop cooperating with the platform.
Suzanne Cater, Ofcom's head of enforcement, stressed in a statement that child sexual exploitation and abuse causes "devastating harm" to victims, and ensuring that websites and apps take this issue seriously is one of the agency's highest priorities. She said that some progress has been seen in file sharing services in recent years, but the problem obviously also exists on large platforms, and chat services "with teenagers as the core user group" are too easy for predators to use to approach and lure children.
Kate warned that these companies must take more and more effective measures to protect children or face "extremely severe consequences" under the Online Safety Act. Before the conclusion of this investigation is reached, it is still unknown whether Telegram will be slapped with a huge fine or even be blocked in the UK. However, the industry generally believes that this case will become one of the important landmark events to test the new round of online security supervision in the UK.