- Telegram is 'not a perfect' platform - more action is needed on illegal content
- 99.999% of Telegram users have nothing to do with crime
- P. Durov was detained on 24 August. Paris-Bourges airport
Telegram is 'not a perfect' platform - more action is needed on illegal content
Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov announced on Friday a range of new features to tackle illegal content, so-called bots and scams. The move comes a week after he was detained in France and charged with a string of offenses linked to the messaging app.
P. Durov broke his silence on Thursday and made his first public comments since his arrest, which he criticized as "false" and "surprising." However, he also admitted that Telegram is "not a perfect" platform and that he will take more action on illegal content, which he said is hosted by only a fraction of its 950 million users. This comes after the announcement that the EU is preparing stricter rules for the app.
99.999% of Telegram users have nothing to do with crime
"While 99.999% of Telegram users have nothing to do with crime, the 0.001% (of users) who engage in illegal activity create a bad image for the platform as a whole and put the interests of nearly one billion users at risk," he wrote in a new statement to Telegram on Friday.
"That's why this year we are committed to making moderation on Telegram an area deserving of praise, not criticism," he added.
P. Durov pointed out that Telegram had removed the "nearby people" feature, which allowed users to determine the location of other Telegram users, but noted that "less than 0.1% of Telegram users were using it, but there have been problems with bots and scammers". It will be replaced by a "nearby businesses" function showing "trusted, verified businesses".
He said that Telegram had also disabled the uploading of new data to its separate blogging tool, the Telegraph, which was allegedly "abused by anonymous actors".
After four days of detention, Durov, 39, was charged with failure to curb extremist and illegal content on Telegram.
P. Durov was detained on 24 August. Paris-Bourges airport
He was detained on 24 August. He was arrested on 24 August at Paris-Bourges airport and was subsequently questioned. Durov was released on bail of €5 million on the condition that he must report to a police station twice a week and remain in France.
Durov, an enigmatic man who rarely speaks in public, is a citizen of Russia, France and the United Arab Emirates where Telegram is based. Forbes magazine estimates his current wealth at $15.5 billion (around €14 billion).
Based on ELTA reports
