FX.co ★ Apple faces lawsuit for not removing Telegram from App Store

According to the Washington Post, nonprofit group Coalition for a Safer Web sued Apple, demanding that it remove Telegram, a controversial messaging app, from its App Store. In its lawsuit, filed at the US District Court for the Northern District of California, the Coalition refers to extremist conversations that flooded the messenger ahead of the US Capitol siege. Notably, Telegram’s management failed to stop the spread of the extremist content. The suit may be a part of a pressure tactic against Apple. Earlier, Apple and Google had to block Parler, a social media platform that was allegedly used by supporters of Donald Trump to plan and coordinate illegal activities in Washington. Some US officials claim that Telegram is used by nationalist groups to spread anti-Semitic content that violates the rights of US citizens. So, in accordance with its content moderation policy, Apple must remove the app that helps incite violence and insurrection. The lawsuit alleges infliction of emotional distress and violation of the California business code. The plaintiff also seeks compensation for unspecified damage and, most importantly, an injunction requiring Apple to remove Telegram from the App Store. This is not the first time that social networks have to take action. Recently, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat have temporarily suspended Donald Trump’s accounts saying his posts violated the ban on election misinformation on the final day of votes approval. Another scandal was caused by Trump’s channel in Telegram which was later marked as a fake. The channel contained reposts from Donald Trump’s Twitter. There is still no confirmation that the outgoing US president has an official Telegram account. However, Telegram founder Pavel Durov confirms that the messenger has recently witnessed a surge in the number of new users. Among them could be those who created these fake accounts in support of political leaders and high-ranking government officials.