Telegram Joins IWF To Tackle Child Abuse Content After Years Of Resistance

After years of resisting calls to adopt child protection measures, the messaging platform Telegram has announced it will collaborate with the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) to combat the spread of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

The IWF, a globally recognized organization that helps detect and remove CSAM, works with major online platforms to prevent the proliferation of such content. Telegram had previously declined to engage with the IWF or similar initiatives.

The change comes four months after Telegram’s founder, Pavel Durov, was arrested in Paris for the platform’s alleged failure to moderate harmful content. The IWF called Telegram’s decision “transformational” but emphasized that this was just the beginning of a much longer process to improve safety on the platform.

“By joining the IWF, Telegram can begin deploying our world-leading tools to ensure this material cannot be shared on the service,” said Derek Ray-Hill, Interim CEO at the IWF.

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With nearly 950 million users worldwide, Telegram has marketed itself as a privacy-first platform, often eschewing the compliance norms of other major social media companies. However, investigative reporting, including by the BBC, has revealed its misuse by criminals to promote drugs, cybercrime, fraud, and CSAM, leading some experts to label it “the dark web in your pocket.”

In August, Durov, the billionaire founder, was detained at a Paris airport. He faces accusations of failing to cooperate with law enforcement regarding cases of drug trafficking, CSAM, and fraud on the platform. French authorities have barred Durov from leaving the country while investigations continue.

Telegram insists that Durov’s detention is unwarranted, arguing that he should not be held accountable for users’ activities on the app.

Since Durov’s arrest, Telegram has introduced several reforms:

• Legal Cooperation: The platform will now provide IP addresses and phone numbers of rule violators to law enforcement in response to valid legal requests.
• Feature Adjustments: It has disabled the “people nearby” function, previously exploited by bots and scammers.
• Transparency Reports: Telegram has pledged to release regular reports detailing content moderation efforts—a standard practice it had previously avoided.

Durov has also publicly committed to transforming Telegram’s moderation practices, aiming to shift from criticism to commendation.

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The partnership with the IWF marks a significant step in that transformation. The organization uses a constantly updated database of known abuse content to help platforms detect and block matches. Telegram claims it had already been removing hundreds of thousands of abusive materials monthly using its systems. The collaboration with the IWF will further enhance its capabilities, the company said.

Despite marketing itself as an end-to-end encrypted messaging service similar to WhatsApp and Signal, most Telegram communications use standard encryption, raising questions about its actual security from hacking and interception.

Telegram is particularly popular in Russia, Ukraine, Iran, and former Soviet states. Durov, who was born in Russia but now resides in Dubai, holds citizenship in Russia, France, the UAE, and St. Kitts and Nevis.

This shift toward compliance reflects growing pressure on platforms to balance privacy with accountability and demonstrates how legal and public scrutiny can drive significant change.

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