Telegram CEO Pavel Durov said his messaging service has been handing over user data to authorities to crack down on criminal activity for years, and that the app's privacy policy has “not changed much” since his arrest.
The tech mogul, who has been charged in France with aiding and abetting child pornography and other crimes related to lax content moderation policies, said on Wednesday that he had posted an earlier message that made it appear as if the company was changing its terms of service. I posted the clarification on my personal Telegram channel.
“My last post may have seemed to herald a major change in how Telegram works, but in reality, very little has changed,” Durov said in a recent communication.
Durov wrote that Telegram has been providing the IP addresses and phone numbers of alleged criminals to government authorities since 2018.
“Whenever we receive a properly formed legal request through relevant communication lines, we intend to confirm it and disclose the IP address/phone number of a dangerous criminal,” Durov said in his latest message. ” he said.
“This process has been in place for much longer than last week.”
Durov said Telegram has responded to more than 200 legal requests from authorities in Brazil and nearly 7,000 in India this year alone.
He said Telegram's core principles have not changed and the company has always strived to comply with local laws “unless they conflict with our values of freedom and privacy.”
“Telegram was created to protect activists and ordinary people from corrupt governments and corporations. We will not allow criminals to abuse our platform or evade justice,” Durov wrote. Ta.
Durov defended himself against French government accusations of allowing criminal activity to take place on the app.
Durov said last month in his first public comments since being indicted in late August that he was being personally targeted by the French government.
“Using a law from a pre-smartphone era to prosecute crimes committed by third parties on platforms controlled by CEOs is the wrong approach,” Durov said in a Sept. 5 Telegram post. I wrote it.
“Building technology is hard enough on its own. Innovators would never develop a new tool knowing they could be personally liable for the potential misuse of the tool. there is no.”
While Durov insisted Telegram was not “some kind of anarchic paradise,” he said the proliferation of Telegram users was “causing growing pains and making it easier for criminals to exploit our platform.” .
“That's why I've made it a personal goal to significantly improve things in this regard. We've already started that process internally and will be sharing more details about our progress soon.” he said.
France's allegations against Durov include that Telegram was used for child sexual abuse material and drug trafficking, and that the platform refused to share information and documents with investigators when required by law. Included.
French investigators detained Durov at Le Bourget airport outside Paris in late August and interrogated him for four days as part of a thorough investigation launched earlier this year.
After being released on bail, Durov must report to the police station twice a week.
The Russian-born mogul holds multiple citizenships, including French.
with post wire
