Telegram joins the IWF to remove CSAM from its platform

Telegram has had a rough 2024 in all senses. The company’s founder and CEO Pavel Durov was arrested back in August in Paris. The authorities had detained him over allegations about Telegram being a center for drug trafficking and the distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Now, Telegram is finally taking major action to remove CSAM from its platform.

Telegram joins the IWF and intensifies its efforts to remove CSAM from its platform

Telegram has now joined the International Watch Foundation (IWF). The UK-based organization partners with various companies and governments to prevent the spread of CSAM. The organization says the messaging giant can use such tools to block “non-photographic depictions of child sexual abuse,” including AI-generated explicit images of minors.

Telegram will also use the IWF’s provided “hashes” which are “unique digital fingerprints of millions of known CSAM content.” It will help the company to immediately spot when such illegal content surfaces publicly on the platform. The IWF has confirmed thousands of reports of CSAM on Telegram since 2022. Those reports also link back to children below two years old.

In a statement, Remi Vaughn, Head of Press and Media Relations at Telegram said that the company “removes hundreds of thousands of child abuse materials each month” with the help of reports and AI moderation. She adds that Telegram will benefit from the IWF’s support to “effectively delete” CSAM before it reaches any user. Not to forget, the messaging app giant previously denied joining any programs that could limit CSAM.

The company previously said it would provide data to authorities upon request

This isn’t the first time the company has taken steps to combat bad actors on its platforms. In September, Telegram announced that it would provide data like IP addresses and phone numbers to authorities upon legal requests.

Let’s not forget that the company had fought against the same in the past in the name of users’ privacy. Durov also claims his arrest was misguided but vowed to moderate Telegram after authorities released him on a €5 million bail.