Telegram is updating its terms of service and will now provide users’ IP addresses and phone numbers to authorities if there is a search warrant or other valid legal requests.
CEO Pavel Durov said in a Telegram post on Monday that this change in service terms and privacy policy is intended to “deter criminals” from using the app.
“While 99.999% of Telegram users are not involved in criminal activity, the 0.001% who are creating a negative image for the entire platform, jeopardizing the interests of our nearly billion users,” he added.
Ukraine has banned the app on the devices of individuals in key positions in an effort to mitigate Russian threats.
This change comes a month after the arrest of the app’s Russian CEO, Pavel Durov, by French authorities. Durov is accused of complicity in the distribution of child abuse images and drug trafficking. He has also been charged with failing to comply with law enforcement.
He denied the charges and criticized the authorities shortly after his arrest, stating that holding him responsible for crimes committed by third parties on the platform was “misguided.”
Critics argue that Telegram has become a hub for misinformation, child pornography, and terrorism-related content, partly due to a feature that allows groups to have up to 200,000 members.
