Russian court fines Telegram for refusal to remove anti-government content

A Moscow court fined the Telegram platform 7 million roubles ($80,000) for refusing to remove content calling for terrorist attacks and participation in protests aiming to overthrow the Russian government.

"Telegram Messenger Inc., being the owner of an information resource, failed to remove information or channels containing calls for extremist activity," the news agency TASS reported, citing court documents.

TASS added that some of the channels listed in the court documents called for participation in anti-government protests that aimed at overthrowing Russia's government, as well as for terrorist attacks on railway transport with the aim of helping Ukrainian forces.

Telegram, the social media and instant messaging platform, did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment outside business hours.

Based in Dubai and founded by Russian-born Pavel Durov, the platform has nearly 1 billion users and is used widely in Russia, Ukraine, and other former Soviet republics.

Durov returned to Dubai in March after several months spent in France following his August 2024 arrest and investigation in connection with the use of Telegram for crimes including fraud, money laundering, and sharing images of child sex abuse.