The UK's telecommunications regulator, Ofcom, has launched a formal investigation into Telegram to determine whether the messaging platform has breached online safety regulations concerning child protection. The investigation falls under the recently introduced Online Safety Act, one of Europe's most ambitious laws aimed at controlling illegal online content.
The investigation was opened following indications of the possible circulation of child sexual abuse material and the use of chat services to contact minors for grooming purposes. Although the immediate focus is on the United Kingdom, the case is being closely followed in the rest of Europe, including Spain, due to its potential impact on the regulation and oversight of major digital platforms.
What exactly is Ofcom investigating?
The British agency explained that its objective is to verify whether Telegram is complying with the legal obligations regarding illegal content imposed by the Online Safety Act, with particular attention to material related to child sexual abuse. The law requires platforms to quickly identify, mitigate, and remove such content, as well as reduce the risk of exposure for the most vulnerable users.
According to Ofcom, the investigation is not limited to content analysis itself, but also aims to assess the effectiveness of Telegram's internal prevention and response systems . This includes how it detects illegal content, what reporting mechanisms exist for users and organizations, and how it collaborates with law enforcement and specialized agencies.
The opening of the procedure does not automatically imply that any breaches have been confirmed. In this initial phase, the regulator is gathering evidence and technical documentation before issuing a provisional position. From there, Telegram will have a period to respond, submit arguments, and propose possible improvements before a final decision is made—a process that could take several months.
Meanwhile, Ofcom has announced that it is conducting other investigations into chat services such as Teen Chat and Chat Avenue , also linked to risks of grooming and child exploitation. All of this reinforces the idea that British authorities are intensifying their monitoring of messaging platforms and online communities that are difficult to regulate.
Online Safety Act: Million-dollar fines and possible service blocking
The Online Safety Act has become one of Europe's strictest regulatory frameworks for illegal content and child protection. Among other obligations, it requires social media, messaging services, and video platforms to take proactive measures to prevent the spread of criminal material, including child sexual abuse, hate speech, and incitement to violence.
Should Ofcom determine that Telegram has broken the law, the regulator can impose penalties of up to £18 million or 10% of the company's global revenue, whichever is higher. This would be a potentially multi-million pound fine for a service with hundreds of millions of users worldwide.
In addition to financial penalties, the regulations give Ofcom further leverage, such as seeking court orders to restrict access to a service in the UK if serious breaches persist. While this is an extreme measure, the mere possibility of a block has generated concern among platforms like Telegram, which promote themselves as privacy-focused alternatives.
Since the law came into force in 2025, Ofcom has opened investigations into nearly 100 digital services and has already imposed several fines. The agency has also demanded more detailed information from giants like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to strengthen their child protection policies, which gives an idea of the scope and ambition of the British legal framework.
In this context, the Telegram case is seen as a new step in the consolidation of a stricter supervisory model , which could influence how European regulation, including the recent Digital Services Regulation (DSA), is applied in countries such as Spain or France.
Complaints, evidence, and the role of child protection agencies
The investigation into Telegram didn't come out of nowhere. Ofcom acknowledges that it received information from the Canadian Centre for Child Protection , which had alerted them to the presence and dissemination of child sexual abuse material on the platform. These entities, equivalent to European organizations like the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), often act as a liaison between platforms, authorities, and law enforcement.
In recent years, international cooperation has been strengthened to quickly identify and remove this type of content , which is often shared through messaging services, open channels, and private groups. Therefore, reports from specialized organizations carry significant weight when activating regulatory mechanisms.
Ofcom has emphasized that protecting children online is one of its priorities and that it works in close coordination with child protection agencies, law enforcement, and other regulators to ensure that technology companies fulfill their responsibilities. In practice, this translates into increasingly specific requirements regarding the design of moderation systems and the resources allocated to this area.
For the British regulator, the Telegram case is part of a broader strategy to monitor the digital environment , encompassing everything from major social networks to niche services where criminal activity has been detected. The investigation into X (formerly Twitter) for using its chatbot to generate illegal content is another example of this shift towards more proactive oversight.
These kinds of developments are being closely watched in the European Union, where new transparency and due diligence obligations are also being rolled out for “very large” platforms. Although the legal frameworks are not identical, the trend points to greater concerted effort to curb online child exploitation.
Telegram's response and its defense arguments
Telegram has quickly responded to the accusations and categorically denies having allowed the public dissemination of child sexual abuse material on its service. In a statement, the company maintains that, since 2018, it has virtually eliminated this type of content in public spaces thanks to advanced detection algorithms and collaboration with non-governmental organizations.
The company claims to have invested in specific technological tools, such as hashing systems to identify known material and automatically block it, as well as solutions designed to detect content generated with artificial intelligence. This point is especially relevant, since the emergence of synthetic images has complicated moderation efforts and the work of regulatory bodies.
In December 2024, Telegram announced its membership in the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), one of the leading international organizations dedicated to combating online child sexual abuse material. According to the company, this step demonstrates its commitment to aligning with global safety standards and strengthening detection in public channels and groups.
At the same time, Telegram has expressed concern about what it sees as a potentially broader attack on platforms that defend freedom of expression and the right to privacy. The company suggests that some of the regulatory pressure may be linked to fundamental disagreements over encryption and the protection of user data.
The platform's founder, Pavel Durov, has also entered the public debate by showing his support for Elon Musk amidst the legal tensions in France over content management on X. Durov, who holds French citizenship, has criticized what he considers the instrumental use of criminal investigations to limit digital rights, a stance that aligns with his warnings against widespread regulatory tightening in Europe.
The dilemma of encryption and content moderation
Beyond this specific case, the Telegram situation brings back to the forefront one of the most complex debates of the digital age: how to moderate content in encrypted environments . The platform combines public channels and groups, which allow for a certain degree of oversight, with private chats and secret conversations based on end-to-end encryption.
In open spaces, it's possible to use external monitoring tools and automated systems that track suspicious links, images, and behavior patterns. This isn't the case in strictly private communications, where encryption prevents the platform itself from accessing message content without compromising the privacy guarantees it offers its users.
This hybrid design creates constant tension between privacy and security . For groups such as journalists, activists, or political dissidents, encryption and the impossibility of mass surveillance are essential safeguards. For legislators and law enforcement agencies, however, these same features can significantly hinder the identification and prosecution of serious crimes, including child exploitation.
In Europe, and particularly in countries like Spain, the debate over whether to introduce "backdoors" or mandatory scanning systems in encrypted services has been ongoing for years, without a clear consensus. Most cybersecurity experts warn that weakening encryption for certain uses would ultimately open the door to vulnerabilities that could be exploited by cybercriminals or hostile state actors.
The British case is thus seen as a regulatory laboratory that could pave the way for future decisions at the EU level. Both the Online Safety Act and the European DSA attempt to strike a balance between protecting minors and preserving privacy, although the technical and legal solutions are still far from being finalized.
Potential impact in Spain and on the European digital ecosystem
Although the research is being conducted in the United Kingdom, its findings could have practical consequences for the European Union . Large platforms often implement global policy changes when faced with sanctions or regulatory impositions in key markets, and the area of child safety is no exception.
If Ofcom concludes that Telegram must strengthen its moderation systems or modify certain functionalities, it is likely that some of those measures will be extended to other European countries to simplify regulatory compliance and avoid a patchwork of different versions of the service depending on the territory.
In Spain, where several initiatives are already underway to strengthen the protection of minors online , the British case can serve as a reference point when designing future reforms or applying current European regulations more strictly. It would not be the first time that pioneering decisions in other European countries have influenced the Spanish regulatory agenda.
For the entire European digital ecosystem, the case against Telegram adds to a growing list of investigations and sanctions affecting social networks, video platforms, messaging services, and hosting providers. The trend points to a more accountable environment for technology companies, with increasingly detailed obligations regarding transparency, due diligence, and cooperation with authorities.
In this context, the Ofcom investigation has become a symbolic case that encapsulates several major current challenges : how to effectively protect minors online, what role platforms should play in prosecuting crime, and to what extent states can intervene without irreparably eroding privacy and freedom of expression. The outcome of the Telegram case, and any potential additional sanctions or requirements, will be key to understanding where the balance between these interests is shifting in the UK, Spain, and the rest of Europe.