Messaging platform Telegram is making a number of new concessions on security and user privacy after founder and CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France last month.
Durov was arrested and questioned by French prosecutors over suspected criminal activity on the platform, including gang dealings and human trafficking, as well as an alleged failure by the company to provide data related to the investigation. He was later released from police custody on $5.56 million bail while the investigation unfolds.
The investigation has sparked debate over free speech and online criminal activity, but the authorities’ concerns were hardly a surprise. The app — which has amassed more than 950 million users, largely thanks to encryption technology and promises of user privacy — has been criticized for years for its popularity among unsavory internet figures and criminals, including drug traffickers, money launderers and extremists, including white supremacists and terrorist groups like ISIS.
Following his arrest, Telegram said Durov had “nothing to hide” and that it was “absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform.” Two weeks after his arrest, Durov acknowledged that the “abrupt increase” in the app’s user base had caused growing pains that made it easier for criminals to abuse the platform.
Now, Telegram is making some changes in an effort to curb criminal activity on the platform, Durov said in a post on the app Monday. Chief among them: Telegram has updated its terms of service and privacy policy to say it will hand over the IP addresses and phone numbers of users who violate its rules to authorities in response to “valid legal requests.” The platform says it will release all user data shared with law enforcement in quarterly transparency reports.
“Search on Telegram is more powerful than in other messaging apps because it allows users to find public channels and bots,” Durov wrote. “Unfortunately, this feature has been abused by people who violated our Terms of Service to sell illegal goods.”
He added that a team of moderators, aided by artificial intelligence, has identified and removed “problematic content” from the public search function. “If you still managed to find something unsafe or illegal on Telegram Search, please report it to us via @SearchReport,” Durov wrote.
Telegram did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment on how much content was removed and whether any channels or accounts were banned as a result.
“Telegram Search is for finding friends and discovering news, not for promoting illegal goods,” Durov said.
While the changes could mean less criminal activity on public parts of the platform, it won’t necessarily put an end to the illegal use of end-to-end encrypted private chats. Telegram says it has “no way to decipher the actual information” contained in conversations.
It is unclear what impact the move to share user data with police will have on the ongoing French investigation.
Telegram said it had previously taken action against content that violated its rules, including restricting access to several channels associated with or run by Hamas during the militant group’s war with Israel. It also removed calls for violence after reports the app was being used to help organise far-right, anti-immigrant riots in the UK.
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