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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
The popular messenger Telegram was briefly removed from Apple's App Store worldwide due to the discovery of materials involving violence against children shared by one of the users.
As reported by Delo.ua, Reuters provided the information.
An Apple spokesperson confirmed the short-term block, noting that after promptly removing the prohibited material and permanently banning the offender by the developers, access to the app was restored on the same day.
A similar incident occurred in 2018 year, when Apple also temporarily blocked Telegram due to inappropriate content.
The service was restored only after a substantial strengthening of safety measures within the platform.
Telegram response
Telegram, which currently has more than a billion active users every month, emphasized its zero-tolerance policy for such violations. The service representatives stated that since the beginning of this year they have blocked nearly 338 thousand groups and channels related to illegal content.
Apple's decision drew a wave of criticism from technology industry leaders. In particular, Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, questioned the logic of a tech giant from Cupertino.
He stressed that removing an app with a billion-user audience because of a single user's post creates a dangerous precedent, because under such criteria any communication service, including Apple's own iMessage, would be at risk of blocking.
Telegram ban in Ukraine
As early as March 2024 year, a bill No. 11115 was registered in the Verkhovna Rada, proposing to regulate the work of the social network Telegram and other social networks in Ukraine.
The bill makes important changes to the field of media law, allocating platform providers for joint information access as a separate category of media entities. These platforms should be characterized by having pages and accounts through which mass information is distributed, in accordance with the laws 'On Media' and 'On Copyright and Related Rights'.
The head of the Verkhovna Rada committee on humanitarian and information policy, a deputy from 'Servant of the People' Mykyta Poturayev, stated that Kyiv cannot regulate Telegram, so parliament may pass a law whereby either social networks or platforms establish dialogue with the Ukrainian state, or the state simply closes them.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Telegram ненадовго зник з App Store: Apple назвала причину блокування". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Delo.ua.
