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What just happened? After spending a few days behind bars, Pavel Durov is now willing to adopt a more collaborative approach with Western authorities. Telegram's CEO has announced significant changes to how the service will handle content moderation and investigations related to crime.
Durov recently confirmed that Telegram has updated its terms of service, making it much harder for criminals using the platform. The new policy includes significant changes regarding collaboration with "law enforcement authorities," who will now have easier access to crucial data useful for identifying suspects.
If a valid order regarding a criminal suspect is issued by the relevant judicial authorities, the revised TOS state that Telegram will first perform its own "legal analysis" of the order. The company may, and likely will, disclose a user's IP address and phone number to authorities, and a quarterly transparency report will be issued detailing all the data shared with judges and investigators.
Before Durov announced the change, Telegram's TOS indicated the company's willingness to cooperate with authorities in identifying "terror suspects," but nothing more. Now, the TOS contain much clearer language indicating that Telegram no longer wants to be considered a safe harbor for criminals.
Durov was arrested by French authorities in August for allegedly failing to implement an adequate moderation policy against criminal activities on the platform. Durov was later released on bail after paying €5 million but is still required to remain in France until the charges are resolved.
In his latest post, the Russian billionaire said Telegram has assigned a team of moderators to address the crime-related issues on the platform. These moderators, aided by unspecified AI algorithms and tools, have been searching for illegal content over the "last few weeks." Telegram users are also encouraged to report any unlawful behavior occurring on the service.
Durov stated that "99.999 percent" of Telegram users have nothing to do with criminal activities, while the remaining 0.001 percent is tarnishing the platform's image.
According to a recent analysis published after the arrest of the 39-year-old entrepreneur, Telegram is particularly popular among US white supremacists, as well as among weapon and drug dealers, and even terrorist organizations like Hamas. The platform still offers a way to engage in end-to-end encrypted secret chat rooms, although this is not the default method for traditional users accessing the service.