Telegram has removed the wording from its FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page that private chats are protected from moderation requests. The change comes two weeks after CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France for allegedly “allowing unimpeded criminal activity on the messenger,” according to Komersant ukrainskyi
reports citing The Verge.
The day before, Durov made his first public statement since his arrest, promising to strengthen content moderation on the platform. This is a marked change in tone after the company initially claimed it had “nothing to hide”.
“The dramatic increase in Telegram’s user base to 950 million has created growth issues that have made it easier for malicious actors to abuse our platform. That is why I have set a personal goal to significantly improve the situation in this area. We have already started this process internally, and I will share more information about our progress with you soon,”
– durov wrote.
Some of these changes appear to be already taking effect: the company’s FAQ page has changed in the last 24 hours. For example, the section titled “Telegram has illegal content. How do I remove it?”
As of 5 September, Telegram’s answer to this question was as follows: “All Telegram chats and group chats are private to their participants. We do not process any requests related to them.”
But now these sentences have been removed. Instead, they have been replaced with: “All Telegram apps have ‘Report’ buttons that allow you to flag illegal content to our moderators with just a few taps,” followed by instructions on how to report illegal content.
At the same time, Telegram still promises privacy and protection from interference in your communications by third parties, including government officials.
Overall, this policy change is a significant departure from Telegram’s previous stance on user privacy and could have serious implications for the platform’s future.
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Telegram and its role in the Russian-Ukrainian war
Telegram is a multi-platform messenger that provides messaging and file sharing, video calling, and optional end-to-end encrypted chats known as “secret chats”. The messenger was developed by Nikolai and Pavel Durov, and the first release took place in 2013. Telegram is registered in the British Virgin Islands and is headquartered in Dubai.
The messenger plays an important role in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war. It has become a platform for disseminating information, coordinating actions, and conducting information operations on both sides of the conflict. The Ukrainian military and activists use Telegram to disseminate operational information, raise funds, and maintain the morale of the population.
On the other hand, Russian special services can use Telegram to monitor and analyse the actions of Ukrainian users. It is known that the ability to obtain information about users through the platform’s API creates potential security risks, making Telegram both an important tool and a possible threat.
Pavel Durov was previously known for his tough stance on refusing to cooperate with governments in providing access to encrypted user data. He has repeatedly stated that he will not hand over his encryption keys to any authorities, which has drawn criticism from some governments and organisations. This stance allowed Telegram to remain one of the most secure messengers, but at the same time created challenges for law enforcement agencies in the fight against cybercrime.