The Australian government has imposed counterterrorism financing sanctions on Terrorgram, a decentralised online network that promotes white supremacy and racially motivated violence.
It's the first time Australia has imposed counterterrorism financing sanctions on an entirely online-based entity.
"It will now be a criminal offence to use or deal with the assets of, or make assets available to, Terrorgram," Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement on Sunday night.
Penalties include up to 10 years imprisonment and heavy fines.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the government was committed to "disrupting the activities of terrorists and violent extremists". Source: AAP / EPA / Neil Hall
Wong said the government was committed to "disrupting the activities of terrorists and violent extremists and preventing them from recruiting and radicalising people online".
Wong also announced that the Australian government had imposed sanctions on , the new leader of the Lebanese group Hezbollah.
Qassem was named secretary-general of the Islamist political party and militant group in October last year after its previous leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was .
What is Terrorgram?
Terrorgram is an online network that primarily operates via the Telegram messaging app and promotes neo-fascist, white supremacist and militant accelerationist ideology.
According to the UK Home Office, the network pursues "the collapse of the Western world and a 'race war' through violent acts of terrorism".
The channels that are part of the network frequently encourage their members to conduct racially motivated violent attacks and share instructions on how to carry them out. They also glorify those who carry out violent attacks.
The network has published propaganda material designed to incite violence against ethnic and religious communities, including calls for antisemitic violence.
At least two attacks have been linked to Terrorgram: a live-streamed stabbing of five people by an 18-year-old man outside a mosque in Türkiye in August last year, and the fatal shooting of two men at a gay bar in the Slovakian capital Bratislava in October 2022.
How have other countries responded to Terrorgram?
In April 2024, the United Kingdom government designated the Terrorgram network as a proscribed terrorist organisation, outlawing membership and support of it.
In September, United States officials said they had arrested two leaders of Terrorgram who allegedly solicited members to attack Black people, Jewish people, immigrants and members of the LGBTIQ+ community.
The pair were charged with soliciting hate crimes and the murder of federal officials, distributing bomb-making instructions and conspiring to provide material support to terrorists.
Last month, the US designated the group and three of its leaders as 'specially designated global terrorists', freezing any of the group's US assets and banning Americans from dealing with it.
What is Telegram, and what does it say about the Terrorgram network?
Telegram is a social media and instant messaging platform similar to WhatsApp. It was launched in 2013 by its Russian founders, .
The platform supports end-to-end encrypted voice and video calls.
The platform also allows users to engage in optional end-to-end encrypted chats, called 'Secret Chats', to have private one-on-one conversations.
The platform has been accused of facilitating the operations of malicious actors such as white supremacists and other extremist groups.
In January, when the US announced sanctions on Telegram, the company said that calls to violence "have no place on Telegram's platform".
"Telegram's moderators removed several channels that used variations of the 'Terrorgram' name when they were discovered years ago," the company said in a statement. "Similar content is banned whenever it appears."
With additional reporting by Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
