(Photo by Silas Stein/picture alliance via Getty Images)
In a major privacy change, Telegram is opening the door to sharing user data, including IP addresses and phone numbers, with law enforcement.
On Monday, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov announced the change after vowing to crack down on illegal activities on the messaging platform following his arrest in France.
In a post, Durov said Telegram is working to control Telegram's search function, which some users have abused to “sell illegal goods.” In response, a team of moderators is using AI to identify and remove problematic content in Telegram’s search.
Durov added: “To further deter criminals from abusing Telegram Search, we have updated our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, ensuring they are consistent across the world. We’ve made it clear that the IP addresses and phone numbers of those who violate our rules can be disclosed to relevant authorities in response to valid legal requests.”
(Credit: Telegram)It’s a major reversal considering that last month, the app's privacy policy said: “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.”
The company has since changed the policy to note Telegram may supply a user’s IP address and phone number to the police for not just terrorism, but “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.” Then, Telegram will conduct a legal analysis on whether to hand over the information.
The policy change occurs after France arrested Durov last month for allegedly failing to cooperate with local law enforcement in stopping crime on the app. As a result, French investigators charged Durov for his complicity in several serious crimes, including child pornography distribution and narcotics trafficking, which have allegedly been occurring on Telegram.
Durov, who has French citizenship, has since been released on bail. In response to the charges, he initially told Telegram’s user base he’d strive to find a balance between privacy and security while refusing to bow down to governments demanding it hand over encryption keys or engage in censorship. Nevertheless, Durov also committed to cracking down on criminals on the messaging service, which led him to change Telegram’s privacy policy on Monday.
In his post, Durov added: “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.”
Still, the change raises some serious doubts about Telegram’s privacy, especially since the app doesn’t end-to-end encrypt user messages by default. This means Durov’s platform can also theoretically hand over user messages to law enforcement as well.
Th other issue is whether Telegram will honor legal requests from more authoritarian governments such as Russia. In the meantime, there’s already signs that many cybercriminals are ditching Telegram over fears about the app supplying user data to the police.