Telegram founder Pavel Durov said on Monday that his messaging app has made changes and will turn over IP addresses of users with warrants. File Photo by Nick Lubushko/Wikipedia Commons
Sept. 24 (UPI) — Telegram announced it will give authorities the IP addresses and phone numbers of users who have search warrants against them or other legal action, as its founder Pavel Durov faces scrutiny over crime on the messaging platform.
Durov said in a post Monday that the updates to its privacy policies that would hand over data of users in response to “valid legal requests” should “discourage criminals.”
“While 99.999% of Telegram users have nothing to do with crime, the 0.001% involved in illicit activities create a bad image for the entire platform, putting the interests of our almost billion users at risk,” Durov said in a post on Monday.
French authorities arrested Durov over suspected criminal activity on Telegram that included gang activity, trafficking and the platform’s previous position not to cooperate with law enforcement during investigations. He was released on a hefty $5.56 million bond.
Durov said in other changes being made by Telegram, moderators and artificial intelligence will help find and remove “problem content” from public search features.
“Search on Telegram is more powerful than in other messaging apps because it allows users to find public channels and bots,” Durov said. “Unfortunately, this feature has been abused by people who violated our Terms of Service to sell illegal goods.”
“Telegram search is meant for finding friends and discovering news, not for promoting illegal goods,” he added.
The concessions announced Monday came after Durov said earlier this month that his arrest by French authorities was “misguided” and “surprising.”
He argued at the time that he could not be held responsible for Telegram posts connected to criminal activities and that French authorities should have sued the company rather than targeting him personally.
Law enforcement agencies in the United States and other countries have argued that Telegram has become the messaging app of choice for criminals, allowing drug gangs, human traffickers, and extremist groups to communicate freely.