Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov confirmed on October 2 that the platform has been disclosing IP addresses and phone numbers of criminals to authorities since 2018.
Durov made this clarification following a recent post that some interpreted as signaling a shift in Telegram’s privacy policies.
Durov added that this process is not new, stating that Telegram has long responded to properly formed legal requests from authorities across most countries. These disclosures are made when users are involved in criminal activities, aligning with Telegram’s privacy policies.
For instance, in Brazil, Telegram fulfilled 75 legal requests in Q1 2024, and in India, its largest market, the company satisfied 2461 legal requests in the same period.
Durov reassured users that Telegram’s core principles remain unchanged. The company continues to balance local legal compliance with its mission to protect activists and ordinary users from oppressive governments or corporations, ensuring that criminals cannot exploit the platform.
Telegram CEO stated last month that he is prepared to withdraw from markets where the company’s principles conflict with regulatory demands. Durov cited Russia and Iran as examples of countries where Telegram has previously pulled out due to disagreements with regulators over privacy and security issues.
Durov’s comments come after his recent arrest at a Paris airport and subsequent indictment by a French court on charges of “complicity in the spread of sexual images of children and other crimes such as drug trafficking” via Telegram’s encrypted services.
Following the arrest, Durov was released under “judicial supervision,” which mandates that he remain in France.
Telegram, which has a massive portion of its revenues tied to cryptocurrency activities, held $400 million in digital assets in 2023, according to a report from the Financial Times. Durov has previously claimed that Telegram is valued at over $30 billion.
Separately, Telegram has modified its stance on content moderation nearly two weeks after French authorities arrested its CEO.
On September 6, Telegram’s FAQ page removed language stating: “All Telegram chats and group chats are private amongst their participants. We do not process any requests related to them.” Previously, this line was part of the app’s response to both questions on illegal content and copyright infringement, but it now only appears in the latter.
The updated response regarding illegal content directs users to use the “report” button to flag such content for moderation.
The revision follows Durov’s first public statement on September 5 since his arrest in August. He acknowledged the need for improved content moderation, citing an increase in users to 950 million as a factor that “made it easier for criminals to abuse our platform.”
This marks a shift in Telegram’s tone from an earlier statement following Durov’s arrest, where the company defended its CEO, asserting he had “nothing to hide” and dismissing claims that the platform or its owner could be held responsible for user misconduct as “absurd.”
