Telegram reverses stance on sharing user data with law enforcement agencies

He also revealed that Telegram’s new “dedicated team of moderators” will use AI to hide problematic content in the app’s search results.

These recent efforts come after years of criticism against Telegram over its lack of content moderation which reportedly led to alleged criminal activities such as drug trafficking, fraud, money laundering, and distribution of child sexual abuse material on the platform.

Upon being detained by French authorities in Paris last month, Durov found himself at the centre of a debate between online free speech and platform accountability. The Russian-born co-founder was subsequently charged with enabling criminal activity on Telegram and failing to comply with law enforcement.

Denying the charges, Durov had said that it was both “surprising” and “misguided” to hold him responsible for crimes committed by third parties on the platform.

The problem with Telegram

For several years now, experts have pointed out that Telegram’s feature allowing groups with a maximum of 2,00,000 users has made it easier to share misinformation, child pornography, and terror-related content. It was also observed that the platform has a lax moderation policy compared to other social media apps.

So far, Telegram had said, “All Telegram chats and group chats are private amongst their participants. We do not process any requests related to them […] We have disclosed 0 bytes of user data to third parties, including governments.”

While some have welcomed Telegram’s recent policy change, others have questioned how the company would deal with data sharing requests from authorities in repressive regimes and what type of user data it would be handing over to law enforcement.