An advocacy group sues Apple for allowing Telegram on its App Store despite its alleged extremist behavior and hate speech.
The advocacy organization Coalition for a Safer Web (CSW) filed a lawsuit against Apple for allowing the app Telegram on its App Store. The non-profit, Washington D.C.-based organization alleged Telegram serves as a hotbed for extremist behavior and hate speech. The advocacy group filed the lawsuit in the Northern District of California on Sunday.
Group sues Apple for allowing Telegram on App Store, claims app has 'hateful content' https://t.co/HYFqa48cdi by @filipeesposito — 9to5Mac.com (@9to5mac) January 19, 2021
According to court documents submitted by CSW, Apple allows "Telegram's distribution through the App Store knowing that Telegram does not comply with Apple's developer guidelines and is routinely used to violate California's hate speech law." In its lawsuit, the advocacy group also alleged that Telegram, which users can download on Apple's App Store, is a hotbed for extremist behavior.
A History Of Extremism
CSW, in the lawsuit it filed against Apple, cited its own press release in June 2020 about an alleged flood of extremist incitement content on Telegram. The advocacy group said that the app also played host to antiemetic and anti-African American hateful content from alleged White supremacist and Neo-Nazi communications after George Floyd's death in May. The organization said this is one of the proofs that Telegram, which is currently on Apple's App Store, is a breeding ground for hate speech and extremist behavior.
The advocacy group also revealed that it tried to bring to the Cupertino tech giant's attention "the real and imminent dangers of Telegram" as regards its hateful content along with the request that Apple removes the app from its App Store. Despite repeated demands and proof showing that Telegram serves as a nest for hate speech and extremist behavior, Apple allegedly ignored CSW's pleas, prompting the advocacy organization to file a lawsuit against the Cupertino giant. An Apple spokesperson declined to provide a response when sought for comment on the matter.
Incriminatory Evidence
In the lawsuit it filed against Apple, the advocacy group charges Apple with "negligent infliction of emotional distress and violation of the business code of California." CSW is also asking the court to prevent Apple from offering Telegram on its App Store due to the app's alleged notoriety in allowing itself to become a platform for extremist behavior and hate speech.
The advocacy group also revealed how some people, aside from displaying extremist behavior and spewing hate speech, used Telegram "to coordinate and incite extreme violence" in the days leading to the inauguration of the new US President. CSW also alleged some users utilized Telegram in sending messages in the days following the bloody protest on January 6 at the U.S. Capitol Building. The advocacy group in its lawsuit against Apple expressed its fear that if the Cupertino tech giant does not remove the Telegram from its App Store, more violence would ensue.
