UK Investigates Telegram Over Child Sexual Abuse Concerns

Online messaging app Telegram is being investigated over allegations that child sexual abuse material is being shared on the platform, UK communications regulator Ofcom said on April 21.

Ofcom, which oversees online services, TV and radio broadcasts, and telephone services in the country, said it had received evidence from the Canadian Centre for Child Protection regarding the alleged presence and sharing of child sexual abuse material on Telegram, and had carried out its own assessment.

“In light of this, we have decided to open an investigation to examine whether Telegram has failed, or is failing, to comply with its duties in relation to illegal content,” Ofcom said in a statement.

The probe is part of the government’s efforts to crack down on children being harmed online without clear accountability.

Ofcom Director of Enforcement Suzanne Cater said that child sexual exploitation and abuse causes devastating harm to victims.

“It’s why we work so closely with partners in law enforcement and child protection organisations to identify where these harms are occurring and hold providers to account where they’re failing to meet their obligations,” she said.

“Progress has undeniably been made, particularly with file-sharing services, which are too often used to share horrific child sexual abuse imagery. But this problem extends to big platforms too, and teen-focused chat services are too easily being used by predators to groom children. ”

Cater added that these companies must do more to protect children or “face serious consequences under the Online Safety Act.”

Among its numerous powers, the Online Safety Act, passed in 2023, sets safety duties on social media platforms that require them to protect users—particularly children—from “harmful content.”

In an April 21 statement posted on X, Telegram said it “categorically denies Ofcom’s accusations.”

“Since 2018, Telegram has virtually eliminated the public spread of [child sex abuse material] on its platform through world-class detection algorithms and cooperation with NGOs,” the company said.

“We are surprised by this investigation and concerned that it may be part of a broader attack on online platforms that defend freedom of speech and the right to privacy.”

In an April 20 post on X, Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov criticized the UK and the European Union’s social media regulations.

“This is how the EU/UK now regulates social media,” Durov wrote. “Offer CEOs secret deals to censor dissent. If they refuse, open criminal cases against them. When people push back, say it’s ‘all for the children.’ ‘Protecting children’ has become the standard legal/PR cover.”

Durov and his brother Nikolai, an encryption expert, founded Telegram in 2013.

Durov was detained in France in 2024 over accusations of complicity in allowing drug trafficking, the sharing of child abuse imagery on Telegram, and allegedly refusing to cooperate with judicial authorities investigating alleged criminality on the app.

French authorities then placed him under formal investigation. Being placed under formal investigation in France does not imply guilt or necessarily lead to trial, but indicates judges consider there is enough evidence to proceed with the probe.

Investigations can last years before being sent to trial or shelved.

In its statement at the time, the company said, “Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe. It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform.”

Telegram was also fined in February by Australia’s online safety regulator for delaying answering questions about what it had done to prevent the spread of child abuse and violent extremist material.

The news of Ofcom’s investigation into Telegram comes less than a month after the UK government launched a first-of-its-kind trial to test whether social media bans, time limits, and digital curfews can improve children’s lives.

Six-week pilots running across the UK will involve 300 families to test which measures work in practice before the government decides on a national policy, officials said in a statement.

The pilots run alongside a separate national consultation on children’s digital wellbeing. Nearly 30,000 parents and children have responded to the ongoing consultation, according to the government.

The UK pilots follow a wave of similar moves globally. Australia became the first country to enforce a ban on social media for children under 16 in December 2025. France, Greece, Denmark, Spain, and Slovenia have since announced plans for comparable bans.