TL;DR
- Telegram has lastly modified its stance on sharing consumer knowledge with the authorities.
- Co-founder and CEO Pavel Durov not too long ago confirmed that the platform will present IP addresses and telephone numbers in response to authorized requests.
- This variation comes just some weeks after Durov was arrested in France.
Telegram is present process important adjustments following the current arrest of its co-founder and CEO, Pavel Durov. After updating its FAQ web page earlier this month to replicate coverage adjustments concerning content material moderation in personal chats, the messaging app has now confirmed that it’s going to begin sharing consumer knowledge with authorities if it receives legitimate authorized requests.
Durov introduced this improvement in a current publish on Telegram (by way of Bloomberg), highlighting a few of the adjustments the platform is making to fight the misuse of its Search function. These embody a brand new crew of moderators to determine and take away “problematic content material” from Search, an choice for customers to report unsafe or unlawful content material, and adjustments to its Phrases of Service and Privateness Coverage to discourage criminals from abusing the function.
The publish additionally states that Telegram will share “the IP addresses and telephone numbers of those that violate our guidelines…to related authorities in response to authorized requests.”
This can be a stark departure from the platform’s earlier stance on sharing consumer knowledge with the authorities, and it’d assist pacify the French prosecutors holding Durov accountable for the prison exercise on the platform and its lack of moderation. Nonetheless, it is going to probably impression the app’s reputation amongst journalists and individuals who stay underneath authoritarian governments.