TL;DR
- Telegram has finally changed its stance on sharing user data with the authorities.
- Co-founder and CEO Pavel Durov recently confirmed that the platform will provide IP addresses and phone numbers in response to legal requests.
- This change comes just a few weeks after Durov was arrested in France.
Telegram is undergoing significant changes following the recent arrest of its co-founder and CEO, Pavel Durov. After updating its FAQ page earlier this month to reflect policy changes regarding content moderation in private chats, the messaging app has now confirmed that it will start sharing user data with authorities if it receives valid legal requests.
Durov announced this development in a recent post on Telegram (via Bloomberg), highlighting some of the changes the platform is making to combat the misuse of its Search feature. These include a new team of moderators to identify and remove “problematic content” from Search, an option for users to report unsafe or illegal content, and changes to its Terms of Service and Privacy Policy to deter criminals from abusing the feature.
The post also states that Telegram will share “the IP addresses and phone numbers of those who violate our rules…to relevant authorities in response to legal requests.”
This is a stark departure from the platform’s previous stance on sharing user data with the authorities, and it might help pacify the French prosecutors holding Durov accountable for the criminal activity on the platform and its lack of moderation. However, it will likely impact the app’s popularity among journalists and people who live under authoritarian governments.
