Messaging app Telegram has updated its terms of service and privacy, indicating that the application is set to provide users’ data to authorities.
The cloud-based mobile and desktop messaging app may now disclose its users’ IP addresses and phone numbers to the “relevant authorities”.
“If Telegram receives a valid order from the relevant judicial authorities that confirms you’re a suspect in a case involving criminal activities that violate the Telegram Terms of Service, we will perform a legal analysis of the request and may disclose your IP address and phone number to the relevant authorities,” according to the company’s new policies guidelines.
The announcement has marked a major shift in the messaging and follows the arrest of Telegram’s owner Pavel Durov, a French national, in France in late August in relation to alleged child abuse, drug trafficking and fraudulent payments.
Pavel Durov, the owner of social media platform Telegram, has criticised French authorities over his arrest in August. https://t.co/a4LqeMMyuS
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) September 6, 2024
According to Durov, the policy update is designed to “discourage criminals” from using the platform.
“We won’t let bad actors jeopardise the integrity of our platform for almost a billion users,” he said on his Telegram channel.
Durov also announced his intention to improve moderation on the platform to make it “much safer”. Any content deemed problematic by the Telegram moderators team is no longer accessible.
According to the Telegram CEO, the search engines in the app have been “abused” by criminals.
“Search on Telegram is more powerful than in other messaging apps because it allows users to find public channels and bots. Unfortunately, this feature has been abused by people who violated our Terms of Service to sell illegal goods,” Durov said.
He encouraged users to warn the messaging app’s support service if they identified any such “problematic content”.
Durov said the new moderation measures only targeted open groups and accessible-for-all content. He did not comment on private groups, the type of content or information shared on them.
