Apple has temporarily removed Telegram messenger from the App Store due to the posting of illegal pornographic content in one of the public group chats. The founder of the messenger, Pavel Durov, has revealed additional details of the incident.
Apple has temporarily removed Telegram messenger from the App Store due to the posting of illegal pornographic content in one of the public group chats. The founder of the messenger, Pavel Durov, has revealed additional details of the incident.
Telegram noted that the platform effectively combats illegal content thanks to AI tools, user complaints, and file hashing. Instead, the attacker resorted to a technical trick: he edited his own old message in an active group, inserting AI-generated prohibited content into it. Because of this, the edited message effectively remained hidden from other chat participants, which prevented them from filing a complaint with the moderators in time.
The messenger emphasizes that this was the work of scammers who demand ransom from community administrators. According to this scheme, attackers use bots to publish illegal materials in public chats, after which they directly send complaints to Apple, trying to block the groups or the application itself if the owners refuse to pay them.
Telegram emphasized that such content is not a systemic problem for the platform, and the use of complex technical tricks only proves the effectiveness of standard moderation tools.
Drurov emphasized that "there are two important lessons for app developers and online communities."
According to the founder of the messenger, such a harsh reaction from Apple is worrying, as the company removed Telegram from the app store without first contacting or clarifying the circumstances with the developers, which sets a dangerous precedent for any application with user-generated content (UGC).
Additionally, there is a clear evolution in blackmail: cybercriminals’ tactics are constantly improving, putting communities at risk on many social platforms that may be less prepared for such coordinated attacks than Telegram.
