diff --git a/app/main/views/uploads.py b/app/main/views/uploads.py
index a3c3ae63b..e3c6d09ad 100644
--- a/app/main/views/uploads.py
+++ b/app/main/views/uploads.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import itertools
 import json
 import urllib
 import uuid
-from io import BytesIO, StringIO
+from io import BytesIO
 from zipfile import BadZipFile
 
 from flask import (
@@ -449,7 +449,7 @@ def contact_list(service_id, contact_list_id):
 def download_contact_list(service_id, contact_list_id):
     contact_list = ContactList.from_id(contact_list_id, service_id=service_id)
     return send_file(
-        filename_or_fp=StringIO(contact_list.contents),
+        filename_or_fp=BytesIO(contact_list.contents.encode('utf-8')),
         attachment_filename=contact_list.saved_file_name,
         as_attachment=True,
     )