Regulation (EU) 2021/784, adopted on 29 April 2021 and known as the Terrorist Content Online Regulation, lets authorities in EU member states issue removal orders for terrorist content found on Telegram's public platform. Telegram has designated a European Digital Services Representative (EDSR) to handle communications under it.
What the regulation covers
- It applies to publicly available content: channels, public groups, bots and sticker sets.
- It does not reach private one-to-one chats or private groups, which are private between their participants.
- Orders come from competent authorities in EU member states, not from members of the public.
How to send a request
- Route it through the designated European Digital Services Representative, whose contact details Telegram publishes for this purpose.
- Include the exact t.me links to the content the order concerns.
- Include the legal basis and the issuing authority, as the regulation requires.
If you are not an authority
Members of the public do not use this route. Report the content from inside the app using the Report button, which reaches Telegram's moderators directly, or write to abuse@telegram.org with the links. Both are faster for an individual report than anything involving a regulatory instrument.
The designation of a representative is itself a requirement of EU law for services operating in the Union. Its existence means there is a defined contact point rather than a general address, which is what makes formal requests actionable.
Updated