In a written parliamentary question dated 27 July 2026, Sebastian Everding, a German MEP from The Left group, asked the Council of the European Union to take concrete steps against the dissemination of commissioned animal torture videos on Telegram, which he says are produced by organised criminal networks and can sell for up to USD 1,300 per video. Everding's question targets three specific actions: confirming that such content constitutes illegal content under the Digital Services Act (DSA), initiating a verification of Telegram's declared user numbers and potentially lowering the threshold for very large online platform (VLOP) designation, and coordinating with national Digital Services Coordinators and Europol to open formal DSA compliance proceedings against the platform. The question, which has not yet received a public answer, directly affects animal welfare groups, minors exposed to the content, Telegram as a platform, and EU regulatory bodies.
Source📩 Open question ↗
Asked bySebastian Everding (The Left)