Telegram bans 700,000 child pornography groups and blocks another 15 million channels for breaking the rules

In 2024, Telegram has blocked more than 15 million channels and groups that shared content that violated the social network’s usage policies, and has banned more than 700,000 that were related to content from child sexual exploitation.

The messaging platform uses tools that allow users to report content that is not allowed in the usage policies. Thus, the Telegram team has eliminated more than a million channels and more than ten million users every month, as reported by the executive director, Pavel Durov, through the social network X (former Twitter).

This is work that, according to Durov, the moderation team has been doing for years, although it has been kept “secret”, and which is now collected on a page dedicated to moderation efforts.

In it, the technology company indicates that in 2024 it has blocked 15,578,753 channels and groups in which content that violated the service use policies was shared. Of that figure, and under its “zero tolerance” policy towards the content of child sexual exploitationhas banned 709,484 channels and groups.

Additionally, the moderation page also reports that it has blocked 131,120 communities related to terrorismwho are dedicated to making calls for violence and spreading terrorist propaganda.

This page comes after Durov announced in September that he would inform the authorities, upon prior request, of all accounts in which illegal content was shared. The manager was arrested in August by French authorities for crimes related to the messaging application, understanding that it is a potential ally for the commission of crimes of fraud, against minors or drug trafficking, among others.