Telegram will reveal users' IP addresses and phone numbers to law enforcement

Telegram will be able to provide users' phone numbers and IP addresses to law enforcement

Pavel Durov, the founder of messaging platform Telegram, announced that Telegram will now share more information with law enforcement authorities. The platform's founder claims that Telegram's previous search function "was abused by individuals who sought to sell illegal goods in violation of the terms of service."

Now, following legitimate requests, the company will disclose to the relevant authorities the phone numbers and IP addresses of those who have violated the platform's rules.

P. Durov argues that these measures should deter criminals. He added that the search function on the Telegram platform is designed to find friends and discover news, not to promote illegal goods.

"We will not allow bad actors to undermine the integrity of our platform, which has almost a billion users," he said.

A few weeks ago, Durov also announced new features to tackle illegal content: bots and scams^[1].

"While 99.999% of Telegram users have nothing to do with crime, the 0.001% of users who engage in illegal activities create a bad image for the platform and jeopardize the interests of almost a billion users. That's why this year we are committed to making moderation on Telegram an area deserving of praise rather than criticism," he said.

P. Durov pointed out that Telegram had removed the "nearby people" feature, allowing users to determine other Telegram users' locations. It will be replaced by a "nearby businesses" feature showing "trusted, verified businesses". "Telegram has also disabled the uploading of new data to its separate blogging tool, Telegraph, which anonymous actors allegedly abused.

In addition, the platform has recently started hiding problematic content from search results using artificial intelligence and a team of moderators to prevent abuse and potentially dangerous criminal schemes.

Telegram privacy attracts criminals

"Telegram combines the functions of a messaging app and a social network with broadcasting features, allowing users to reach hundreds of thousands of people simultaneously. However, the app has earned its reputation not for its correspondence or other communication services but for its privacy and its lax content moderation policy.

However, it is precisely for these reasons that it has become a haven for users who would otherwise not be able to publish their content so freely, including dissidents, brokers of stolen personal data, distributors of child pornography, extremists and members of the Islamic State.

Cybersecurity experts have long known that Telegram's content moderation system is far more sophisticated but more widely ignored than that of its competitors.

Many messaging apps, such as the US-based Signal or the meta WhatsApp, use a security protocol called end-to-end encryption, ensuring that any message's content can only be read by its direct parties.

Communication on Telegram is not encrypted, which in theory means that any illegal activity on the platform should be easy enough to monitor and report to law enforcement. Full encryption can be activated when using Telegram, but the settings are difficult to find and both parties to the conversation must select this feature.

According to David Thiel, chief technologist at Stanford University's Internet Monitoring Unit, Telegram promotes users' privacy and freedom of expression more than anything else. Instead of ensuring that spying on users is technically impossible, Telegram only promises not to monitor users and their content too closely^[2].

However, researchers are able to easily detect desired, potentially dangerous, or extremist content and assume that cybercriminals with access to no less advanced technology are able to do the same. This can already pose both individual and global threats.

Telegram's security continues to be called into question: the Ukrainian government will no longer use it

In the light of the news now associated with the platform, Ukraine has banned government, military and security officials from using Telegram, founded by the Russian-born Durov, specifically in view of the threats to national security. 

Ukraine has announced that Russia may have access to personal data and messages on the app, which is one of the main means of communication both in Ukraine and Russia. It is said that employees who use Telegram in the course of their duties will not be affected by this rule, as it remains the main channel of communication between the military and the authorities.

However, Ukrainian security officials have said that Moscow uses Telegram for "counter-attacks, dissemination of fraud and malware, determining the geographical location of the user, and correcting missile strikes". 

Telegram founder arrested in Paris

As a reminder, Durov was arrested in Paris in August for failing to prevent criminals from using Telegram. 39-year-old P. Durov, 39, was detained on 25 August at an airport in Paris, but is currently out on bail, although he cannot leave the country. Durov is a national of Russia, France and the United Arab Emirates, where Telegram is based.

He has been accused by the French authorities of several offences relating to Telegram. According to local media, he was detained during a pre-trial investigation into the platform's failure to manage its content and to cooperate with law enforcement to prevent drug trafficking, fraud and child exploitation on the social platform.

In a statement issued after Durov's arrest, Telegram said it complies with all EU laws and has not violated any legal requirements.

However, the United Nations (UN) said that Telegram's founder's arrest and conviction for violations is a complex case that raises serious human rights concerns.

"This is a very complex case. It raises serious human rights concerns," Ravina Shamdasani of the UN Human Rights Office told a press conference.

She indicated that the Geneva-based agency is considering publishing an article describing "the parameters within which these situations should be assessed".

For its part, the Kremlin has previously warned France not to turn the criminal case against Telegram founder and CEO Durov into a political persecution.

Telegram has grown considerably since its launch in 2013. It now boasts 950 million users worldwide.