Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of Telegram, recently revealed that the messaging app has been disclosing user data to authorities since 2018. This disclosure includes IP addresses and phone numbers of users involved in criminal activities. Durov clarified this in a post on his Telegram channel, emphasizing that this practice has been in place for several years and is not a recent change.
Durov’s statement came after his arrest in France on charges related to facilitating criminal activities through Telegram. He faces accusations of allowing child pornography and other illicit content to proliferate on the platform due to lax content moderation policies. Following his arrest, Durov was released on a $5.5 million bail and has since been vocal about the situation, defending Telegram’s practices and his actions.
In his recent post, Durov explained that Telegram has always complied with properly formed legal requests from authorities. He provided examples of data disclosures, citing that in Brazil, Telegram responded to 75 legal requests in the first quarter of 2024, 63 in the second quarter, and 65 in the third quarter. In India, the numbers were significantly higher, with 2,461 requests in the first quarter, 2,151 in the second, and 2,380 in the third.
Durov stressed that Telegram’s core principles have not changed. The company aims to protect activists and ordinary people from corrupt governments and corporations while ensuring that criminals cannot abuse the platform. He reiterated that Telegram’s privacy policies are designed to comply with local laws as long as they do not conflict with the company’s values of freedom and privacy.
The recent news has sparked a debate among crypto lawyers and privacy advocates about the legality and ethics of Durov’s actions. Some argue that holding a CEO responsible for crimes committed by third parties on their platform is misguided, while others believe that stricter content moderation is necessary to prevent criminal activities.
Durov’s arrest and the subsequent revelations have put a spotlight on the challenges faced by tech companies in balancing user privacy with legal compliance. As Telegram continues to grow, it will need to navigate these complex issues while maintaining its commitment to user privacy and security.