“Telegram channels can be blocked ONLY if they contain pornographic content or ISIS propaganda.” Telegram wrote to Rudaw.
“Anyone can report a channel to abuse@telegram.org, we will check the request and ban the channel if it has porn or terrorist propaganda.”
This came in response to claims by Iran’s communications minister Mahmud Vaezi who said on Sunday, according to Fars News, that Telegram would shut down any content reported as inappropriate by Iran.
Vaezi said that his ministry had reported some channels engaging in activities on Telegram that were not in line with Iran's rules.
In their response however, the team quoted a tweet from Telegram CEO Pavel Durov as saying, “I guess what he meant is that they (like any other user) can report porn/ISIS channels at abuse@telegram.org and they'll get blocked.”
The messaging app also denied shutting down any accounts linked with the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) as the group claimed last month.
“We have never blocked any channels of the Kurdistan Democratic Party-Iran or any other political content. In the case you are probably referring to, two channels became inactive because their owner deleted his Telegram account:”
KPDI official Karim Parwezi told Rudaw last month that Telegram had closed down its account and he blamed the Iranian government for the closure.
“The KDPI has reopened their channels since then and is broadcasting now without any problems. (When we delete something, the username cannot be reused again,” said Telegram.
