Telegram CEO Pavel Durov said the messaging app will start handing over users' IP addresses and phone numbers if required by law. Bloomberg, which is the first The policy change notes that Telegram has historically been “notoriously unresponsive to takedown requests” and “often ignored requests for information about suspected offenders.”
Accompanying this development is some moderation being implemented. Telegram has begun using ai, as well as a human moderation team, to remove “problematic” content from its search results, Durov said. Durov also asked users to report unsafe and illegal content to the team so it can be removed.
It is unknown how much these changes will affect Telegram’s popularity among those involved in illicit activities (or the ability of law enforcement to prosecute them). While IP addresses and phone numbers can be useful for triangulating users’ activities elsewhere, Telegram users can opt out of several layers of anonymizing features, such as disappearing messages, end-to-end encryption, or the ability to use the service at all. The service's FAQ goes on to boast that “to date, we have disclosed 0 bytes of user messages to third parties, including governments.”
In August, Durov was arrested in France for offences committed on Telegram and ordered to remain there. He denies these charges.
