Indonesia Mulls Ban on Telegram Over Content Moderation Concerns

A country considered to have one of the largest Telegram user bases in the world is considering banning the messaging platform over concerns of inadequate moderation of illegal content.

Budi Arie Setiadi, Indonesia’s minister of communications and informatics, has reportedly said the government may block Telegram for its alleged role in facilitating online gambling and the spread of pornography.

The potential ban comes after Telegram, along with Bigo Live, a live-streaming app owned by Singapore-based Bigo Technology, failed to improve content moderation despite repeated requests from the Indonesian government.

Budi expressed his personal preference for the closure of the two platforms, but stressed the need for thorough research before making such a decision.

The minister warned that if more evidence of illegal content distribution is found, the platforms will likely be banned.

Indonesia is the third largest country in terms of Telegram usage, with over 27 million downloads of the app. A ban could have a significant impact on Telegram’s user base, which as of July 2024 has over 950 million active monthly users globally, with India and Russia being the top two countries by number of users.