Telegram is taking an important step to reduce child sexual abuse material (CSAM) by partnering with the International Watch Foundation (IWF) four months after the arrest of its founder and CEO Pavel Durov. In August, the French authorities filed 12 charges against Durov, including complicity in “distributing, offering or providing pornographic images of minors in an organized group” and “possession of pornographic images of minors.”
The UK-based IWF works with social media platforms, technology companies, governments and other organizations to prevent the spread of CSAM. Telegram’s membership in the IWF gives it access to the organization’s tools that block links to CSAM content and “non-photographic images,” including those created by artificial intelligence. It also provides Telegram with hashes of known CSAM content and any malicious content that the organization identifies. IWF reports that it has identified thousands of confirmed cases of CSAM on Telegram since 2022.
Telegram has previously refused to join any programs that could help curb CSAM. In a release, Telegram’s head of press and media relations, Remy Vaughan, said that the platform “removes hundreds of thousands of child abuse materials every month” through notifications and moderation using artificial intelligence, hash matching, and more. Though Vaughan acknowledged that the IWF’s support will strengthen the company’s ability to remove CSAMs before they reach anyone.
Since Durov’s arrest, Telegram has taken other steps, announcing in September that it would hand over IP addresses and phone numbers to lawful requests – something it has fought against in the past. Durov is expected to remain in France for the foreseeable future.
