Title: Post-Arrest, Telegram Shares User Data with Authorities on Thousands More Individuals
Since revising its policies post-founder's arrest, Telegram has substantially amplified its collaboration with law enforcement agencies worldwide, disclosing information about thousands more users than before.
In the first nine months of 2024, Telegram provided U.S. police with 108 user IP addresses or phone numbers in connection to 14 cases. But by the fourth quarter, the number skyrocketed to 2,145 users due to 900 law enforcement requests.
The arrest of Telegram's founder, Pavel Durov, in August 2024 on charges of enabling drug trafficking and child abuse, sparked a wave of changes in the company's approach. Durov announced in September that Telegram would begin sharing more information in response to legal demands from law enforcement agencies.
Crowdsourced transparency data for 2024, collected across more than a dozen countries, reveals that Telegram has held true to its promise. The number of users Telegram shared with French authorities jumped from 54 in the first half of the year to 632 between July and the end of September. This figure further increased to 1,386 users in the last three months of the year.
The trend of increased cooperation is also evident in other countries, such as the U.K., with more than 98% of the law enforcement requests for user information being fulfilled in the fourth quarter. In Finland, it was 79%, and in Belgium, it was 74%.
India saw the most cooperation between Telegram and law enforcement, providing IP addresses or phone numbers for 23,535 users in response to 14,641 requests from Indian authorities. Over half of these requests (7,649) came in the fourth quarter.
The strained relationship between law enforcement agencies and Telegram, which had become a haven for illicit activity, had been ongoing for some time. Telegram's decision to share more information with law enforcement, coupled with changes to its search function, was welcomed by some as a means to combat criminal activity.
Durov, in his announcement, cited the need to "discourage criminals ... We won’t let bad actors jeopardize the integrity of our platform for almost a billion users."
Enrichment data indicates that the arrest of Durov, accompanied by charges related to child pornography, drug trafficking, money laundering, and withholding crucial information from investigators, added pressure on Telegram to cooperate with law enforcement. The company's updated privacy policy now allows for the disclosure of user data in cases where users are suspected of criminal activities that violate Telegram's Terms of Service.
The increased data sharing has raised concerns about user privacy and GDPR compliance. Critics argue that Telegram's updated privacy policy undermines its core appeal for privacy-conscious users, while others see the platform's extensive network and usability as outweighing these concerns.
In light of the increased cooperation with law enforcement, Telegram's future might involve further integrating technology and tech solutions to ensure secure data sharing, while maintaining user privacy. The company's shift towards collaboration with authorities has sparked discussions about the balance between combating cybercrime and upholding user privacy rights.
