Telegram to Expose Users Who Use Platform For Criminal Activities, Share Data With Relevant Authorities 

With a view to joining efforts at waging war against cybercrime and other illicit activities on social media, a popular messaging app, Telegram has reviewed its users’ privacy and protection policy by announcing its readiness to make personal details of defaulting users available to relevant authorities for investigation.

The Telegram Chief Executive Officer, Pavel Durov, in a post sighted by Investors King, disclosed that the reversal of the company’s privacy policy was in response to alleged criminal activities and other illicit events happening on the popular social messaging platform.

Durov declared that once Telegram gets valid legal requests for the provision of the users’ IP addresses and phone numbers to authorities, the management would not hesitate in obliging the court order.

He said the move is to attempt to control criminal activity on the platform and prevent abuse.

Recall that Telegram’s policy, before it was changed, limited user information sharing to cases involving terror suspects.

However, Telegram tinkered with the policy following the arrest of its CEO, Durov in France over allegations that the company pretended not to notice the alleged various crimes flourishing unchecked on the platform.

Investors King also gathered that policy reversal is not unconnected with the recent decision of the Ukrainian government to ban the use of Telegram by government officials, military personnel, and other defense and critical infrastructure workers because of national security concerns.

Meanwhile, after Durov was subsequently released on bail and ordered to stay in the country pending ongoing investigation, he made it clear that the IP addresses and phone numbers of those who violate Telegram’s rules would now be made available to relevant authorities subject to valid legal requests.

The company further stated that if it receives a valid order from the relevant judicial authorities that confirms that any of its users is a suspect in a case involving criminal activities that violate the Telegram Terms of Service, it will perform a legal analysis of the request and may disclose affected user’s IP address and phone number to the relevant authorities.

It added that such data disclosures will be included in its periodic transparency reports, noting that the service may collect metadata such as IP address, devices and Telegram apps used, and the history of username changes to tackle spam, abuse, and other violations.

The platform has already featured the policy changes on its app as its search feature now removes problematic content and provides a new mechanism for users to report illegal search terms and material through the @SearchReport bot for subsequent review and removal by a human moderation team.