Telegram responds to Apple's brief App Store removal: Attackers carried out "removal extortion" by posting pornographic content in public groups.

Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced in a post on his personal channel that Apple briefly removed Telegram from the App Store last night over illegal pornographic content shared by a user in a public group, before restoring the app within hours. Attackers exploited technical means to bypass content moderation by editing old messages in active groups to implant AI-altered illegal content that remains "invisible" to regular members, evading timely detection and reporting. The attackers behind the incident are "take-down extortionists": they use automated accounts to post illegal content in public groups and file reports with platforms like Apple, attempting to force group administrators to pay ransoms; if refused, they will leverage platform moderation mechanisms to push for related communities or even the entire app to be taken down. Durov stressed that illegal content in public groups is not a systemic issue. Telegram’s existing moderation tools—including user reporting, AI filtering, and content hash detection—can effectively handle violations, and attackers must rely on complex tactics such as hiding content and tampering with historical messages to cause impact. He warned that the incident exposes new risks facing user-generated content platforms: malicious groups may abuse app store review processes to disrupt the operation of legitimate communities. Attack methods are evolving, and other social platforms may face similar threats. Durov called on app developers and online communities to stay vigilant and improve their content moderation and risk protection mechanisms.