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Telegram’s new policy: providing user information

by News Room
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Key takeaways

  • Telegram now agrees to provide user data, such as IP addresses and phone numbers, to authorities with a valid lawful request.
  • The company wants to prevent criminal activity on the platform, but critics are concerned about cooperation with repressive regimes.
  • Experts consider Telegram’s content management system too weak compared to other social media platforms.

Telegram’s stricter user data policies

Telegram has updated its terms of service and privacy policy and now agrees to provide user data, such as IP addresses and phone numbers, to authorities with valid legal requests, such as a search warrant.

Critics are concerned about Telegram’s content management

In a message on Monday, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov stated that the purpose of this change is to prevent criminal activity on the platform. While he emphasized that the majority of Telegram users are law-abiding, he noted that the small percentage who engage in illegal activities harms the platform’s reputation and puts all users at risk.

Past attitude and current change

This decision marks a significant change from Durov’s previous stance, as he was recently arrested by French authorities on charges of promoting criminal activity on the platform. These charges include complicity in the distribution of child abuse images, drug trafficking and failure to cooperate with the police.

Regulation and balance between freedom of speech and online security

Critics have long accused Telegram of becoming a haven for misinformation, child pornography and terrorist content, in part because of its feature that allows groups to reach up to 200,000 members, far more than WhatsApp’s 1,000 member limit.

Concern about cooperation with the authorities of repressive regimes

John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, noted that many users, especially political dissidents in countries like Russia and Belarus, trusted Telegram because it resisted government pressure. This recent policy change raises concerns about whether Telegram is now cooperating with the authorities of repressive regimes.

Expert views on content control and legal requirements

Cyber ​​security experts point out that while Telegram has removed some problematic groups in the past, its content monitoring system is significantly weaker compared to other social media platforms and messaging apps. Before this policy update, Telegram only provided information about suspected terrorists.

Insufficient changes according to the experts?

However, experts such as Daphne Keller of Stanford University’s Center on Internet and Society say that simply making it harder to find illegal content may not meet French or European legal requirements. They emphasize that Telegram must actively remove any content that its employees recognize as illegal and report certain serious violations, such as child sexual abuse, to authorities.

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