EU officials are investigating whether Telegram has been hiding the number of its users to avoid regulation under the Digital Services Act (DSA). This was reported by Engadget.

The Joint Research Center, a department of the European Commission, the executive branch of the EU, is conducting a technical investigation to determine the true number of platform users in the block. Officials are also discussing the issue with Telegram, the Financial Times reports.

“We have a way through our own systems and calculations to determine how accurate the user data is,” said Thomas Regnier, the EC’s spokesperson for digital issues, said.

Earlier this year, Telegram claimed to have 41 million users in the EU. Although the company was supposed to provide an updated figure this month, it only said it had “significantly fewer than 45 million average monthly active recipients in the EU.”

Officials claim that the failure to disclose the actual number of Telegram users is already a violation of the DSA. At the same time, they believe that the investigation will reveal that more than 45 million EU residents use the platform.

This figure is important because services with more than 45 million users are defined as “very large online platforms.” They are subject to stricter rules under the DSA, which can result in a fine of up to 6% of the company’s annual revenue.