Apple temporarily removed Telegram from the App Store over content concerning children

• Apple has temporarily removed Telegram from the App Store pending a review of whether the app’s content violates rules on harmful content for children.
• Telegram said Apple is wrong, claiming that the company blocked the content after receiving a request from the British regulator.
• In material obtained by us, dating back to 2018, Ofcom reported that Telegram’s content violated rules on harmful content for children.

Apple has found that Telegram from the App Store violates rules on harmful content for children. According to the materials, the app’s content includes, among other things, a description of sexual content involving minors. The company also claims that it received a request to review the app’s content from the British regulator.

The material states that Telegram was banned from the iPhone and iPad App Store without explanation, as a result of which the company cannot continue to distribute Telegram. Apple, citing the materials, explained the decision by saying that it is related to content that violates rules on harmful content for children. It also said that the regulator’s request was based on a complaint about the app’s content.

Telegram said that the ban is connected to a request from Apple after the company received a complaint about the app’s content. The company also noted that Telegram has no sexual content involving minors, and that it has been blocked due to an incorrect interpretation of the app’s content.

In a separate statement, Telegram said that the ban on X is connected to Apple’s request to stop the programs in its magazine. The materials also cite a reaction from CEO Epic Games Tim Sweeney, who said that Apple’s decision is a disproportionate attempt to restrict the scale of access for users.

According to the materials, in 2018 Telegram already violated rules on harmful content through a specific type of content, and the app’s developers were subsequently banned. The materials also say that Ofcom in the UK uncovered violations through a report that described violations of rules on harmful content for children, while Telegram had appealed the decision.

The materials also say that the regulator concluded that the only reason for Telegram’s ban was a misinterpretation of the content that violates rules on harmful content for children and that it was not a real violation.

Tags: Technology/Crime