Science & Technology (Commonwealth Union)_ Telegram, the popular messaging app, has announced a major policy shift, stating it will now provide users’ IP addresses and phone numbers to authorities when presented with valid search warrants or legal requests. This new approach, which is being described as aimed at curbing criminal activity, was shared by Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in a post on Monday.
Durov explained that while the vast majority of Telegram users are not involved in illegal activities, the small fraction —around 0.001%—poses a risk to the platform’s reputation and its nearly one billion users. “This change is intended to discourage criminals from using the platform,” he stated, emphasizing the platform’s ongoing effort to protect its legitimate users.
This policy shift marks a significant departure for Durov, who co-founded Telegram and has long advocated for user privacy. His stance on the issue came under scrutiny after his detention by French authorities last month at an airport near Paris. Shortly after, Durov faced charges, including enabling criminal activity on the platform, such as the distribution of child abuse images and drug trafficking. He was also accused of failing to comply with law enforcement requests.
Durov has denied all charges, calling the allegations against him “surprising” and “misguided.” He argued that holding him accountable for the actions of third-party users on the platform was unjust.
Critics, however, have long claimed that Telegram’s large group feature—allowing up to 200,000 members per group—has made it a haven for harmful content, including misinformation, child pornography, and terrorism-related communications. By comparison, WhatsApp, owned by Meta, restricts group sizes to 1,000 members.
The 39-year-old CEO’s arrest has reignited debates about online free speech protections, particularly concerning platforms like Telegram, which have been viewed as safe havens for political dissidents. John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, noted that after Durov’s detention, many users began questioning whether Telegram was still a safe platform for voicing political opinions, especially in authoritarian regions like Belarus and parts of the Middle East.
Scott-Railton pointed out that this latest policy adjustment is already causing alarm in some communities. “Telegram’s image as a platform resistant to government demands attracted people who wanted a secure space to share their views. Now, many wonder if the app will start cooperating with authorities in repressive regimes.”
Telegram has yet to clarify how it plans to handle legal demands from authoritarian governments. This ambiguity has heightened concerns about whether the platform will remain a safe space for free expression in such regions.
While Telegram has previously taken action to remove certain illegal groups, some cybersecurity experts argue that its content moderation policies are still less stringent than those of other social media platforms and messaging apps. Before this policy update, Telegram was only known to share information on users suspected of terrorism, as reported by 404 Media.
In his Monday statement, Durov revealed that the app now employs a dedicated team of moderators who are using artificial intelligence to filter out problematic content from search results. However, critics argue that simply making harmful content harder to find may not be enough to comply with the strict legal requirements in countries like France and across Europe.
Daphne Keller, a researcher at Stanford University’s Center for Internet and Society, explained that in certain cases, platforms are expected to completely remove content that can be clearly identified as illegal, rather than just obscuring it. Additionally, companies are often required to report severe violations, such as the sharing of child abuse material, to authorities.
Keller expressed doubts over whether Telegram’s new policy will satisfy law enforcement demands. “It seems like a commitment that is likely less than what authorities are seeking,” she said, referring to the need for more detailed information about user communications and the content exchanged on the platform.
As Telegram navigates these new challenges, the balance between protecting user privacy and preventing criminal misuse of the platform remains a contentious issue, with implications for both the platform’s reputation and its global user base.
