Telegram updates policy, Durov says they will share more data with authorities

Telegram has changed its policy over sharing data with law enforcement in the wake of the arrest of CEO Pavel Durov.

The messaging app updated its privacy policy on Monday (Sept 23) to confirm that the company will provide user data, such as IP addresses and phone numbers, to law enforcement agencies in response to a valid legal order. This marks a clear shift in Telegram’s policies when it comes to sharing data with law enforcement.

“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,” reads Telegram’s updated policy statement, going on to note that any data shared will be published in a quarterly transparency report.

Previously, Telegram’s policy was only to disclose information surrounding terror activities, reading: “If Telegram receives a court order that confirms you’re a terror suspect, we may disclose your IP address and phone number to the relevant authorities. So far, this has never happened.” Instances of this were shared in a semiannual report.

The policy change comes alongside updates to Telegram Search, as explained in a statement on Telegram by the company’s CEO Pavel Durov. He said that the search feature “has been abused by people who violated our Terms of Service to sell illegal goods.”

“Over the last few weeks, a dedicated team of moderators, leveraging AI, has made Telegram Search much safer,” Durov continued. “All the problematic content we identified in Search is no longer accessible. If you still manage to find something unsafe or illegal in Telegram Search, please report it to us via @SearchReport.”

After also explaining the changes to the terms of service and privacy policy, Durov concluded by saying: “These measures should discourage criminals. Telegram Search is meant for finding friends and discovering news, not for promoting illegal goods. We won’t let bad actors jeopardize the integrity of our platform for almost a billion users.”

Over the last few months, Telegram has been facing investigations into illegal activity conducted on the platform in Korea and France, culminating in the arrest of Durov on August 28. Since then, the CEO has described his arrest by French authorities as “misguided” and labeled allegations “absolutely untrue.” However, it seems the investigations may have had some effect, perhaps sparking the changes to Telegram Search and the app’s privacy policy.

Readwrite has reached out to Telegram for comment about the recent privacy changes.

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