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The messaging app’s CEO said he hopes the privacy policy update will ‘discourage criminals’ from using the app for illegal activities.
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has said the messaging app will hand over IP addresses and phone numbers of users in response to valid legal requests.
Durov, who was arrested in France last month, said the company has updated its terms of service and privacy policy to “further deter criminals” from abusing the app.
“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 jeopardise the integrity of our platform for almost a billion users,” he said in a post to his own Telegram channel.
The app’s privacy policy states that the company may disclose a user’s IP address and phone number to the relevant authorities if it receives a valid order from judicial authorities that confirms the user is a suspect in a case involving criminal activities that violate Telegram’s terms of service.
The details could be disclosed following “a legal analysis of the request” and the occurrence will be included in a quarterly transparency report.
Telegram is one example of a messaging app that has become a hotbed for illegal activity and has been criticised in the past for its ‘hands-off’ approach when it comes to content moderation.
Durov’s arrest in Paris in August was part of a broader investigation into the spread of illegal content on the app. He was granted bail on the condition that he regularly report to a police station and remain in France.
Following his arrest, the CEO said Telegram is not perfect but denied suggestions that the app is “some sort of anarchic paradise”.
However, according to The Verge earlier this month, the app quietly updated its FAQ page, removing language that protects private chats from moderation.
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