Telegram Blocks Hamas ChannelsAndroid Amid Ongoing Conflict in Israel

Telegram's move, enforced by Google's app store guidelines, contradicts CEO's earlier stance of leaving the channels open for information; other social platforms also revise content policies amid conflict.

• Telegram, a messaging app with 700 million monthly active users, has blocked channels used by Hamas on Android devices. They include the official channel of Hamas and its military wing, hamas_com and al-Qassam brigades.
• Telegram's CEO Pavel Durov originally defended keeping the channels open, arguing that they served as a unique source of information for researchers, journalists, and fact-checkers, which did not amplify propaganda like other platforms.
• However, Telegram's blockage of the channels on Android devices contradicts Durov's earlier stance. The company has not confirmed whether same channels have been blocked on iOS devices.
• The decision to block the channels was apparently enforcement of Google's app store guidelines. The blocking message states that the channels can't be displayed on “Telegram apps downloaded from the Google Play Store.
• Other tech companies including Meta and TikTok, have also revised their content moderation policies in response to the ongoing conflict in Israel.

3 Articles

Gizmodo The Verge CNBC