Telegram Founder Says App Was Built to Protect People From ‘Corrupt Governments’

Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov on Wednesday said the messaging platform has been built to shield activists and ordinary people from “corrupt governments.”

Durov said that there were discussions surrounding changes to Telegram's privacy policy and concerns among users about a possible shift in the platform’s stance on privacy. Addressing the issue, Durov clarified that while Telegram has cooperated with legal authorities for years, its foundational principles remain unchanged.

“Telegram was built to protect activists and ordinary people from corrupt governments and corporations," he said. "We do not allow criminals to abuse our platform or evade justice."

Durov added that since 2018, the messaging app has had the ability to share the IP addresses and phone numbers of criminals with law enforcement—provided the legal requests are properly formed and verified.

In August this year, Pavel Durov was arrested in France on charges related to content moderation on Telegram. While many speculated about potential links to cryptocurrency, the charges did not mention crypto at all.

Instead, they focused on allegations that Durov had allowed illegal content, including child pornography and drug sales, to spread on the platform. This incident intensified the scrutiny of Telegram’s approach to user privacy and content control.

Sharing data on Telegram’s cooperation with legal requests, he noted that the platform has adhered to requests in multiple countries.

For example, Durov said the company disclosed data in response to more than 200 legal requests in Brazil this year. In India, Telegram's largest market, the platform processed almost 7,000 requests since the start of the year.

This year, European authorities also increased the use of the official communication channel, in compliance with the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), resulting in a higher number of requests during Q3.

Despite the disclosure of data under specific circumstances, Durov made it clear that Telegram’s policies have not fundamentally changed. The company recently streamlined its privacy policy to align with its principles across different regions.

"Our core principles haven’t changed," Durov stated, reiterating that while Telegram strives to comply with relevant local laws, this compliance does not come at the cost of compromising its values of freedom and privacy.

Edited by Stacy Elliott.