Telegram will now turn over a user’s phone number and IP address if it receives a request from authorities, according to its just-updated privacy policy:
If Telegram receives a valid order from the relevant judicial authorities that confirms you’re a suspect in a case involving criminal activities that violate the Telegram Terms of Service, we will perform a legal analysis of the request and may disclose your IP address and phone number to the relevant authorities.
In a post on Telegram, Durov says the company is making these changes to “deter criminals from abusing” the app’s search function. Telegram’s search feature allows users to look for public channels and bots, but Durov says it’s been abused by people “to sell illegal goods.”
“We’ve made it clear that the IP addresses and phone numbers of those who violate our rules can be disclosed to relevant authorities in response to valid legal requests,” Durov wrote in a post on his Telegram channel. “We won’t let bad actors jeopardize the integrity of our platform for almost a billion users.”
As spotted by 404 Media, Telegram’s law enforcement policy previously only applied to terror suspects, saying: “If Telegram receives a court order that confirms you’re a terror suspect, we may disclose your IP address and phone number to the relevant authorities.”
Telegram says it will disclose whether it provided user information to authorities in its quarterly transparency reports.
Along with changing Telegram’s privacy policy, Durov says moderators are using AI to identify and remove “problematic content” from the platform’s search feature. Earlier this month, Telegram changed its language surrounding private chat moderation. It also disabled the “misused” People Nearby feature and paused media uploads to its anonymous blogging tool, Telegraph.
As Telegram attempts to reverse its shady reputation, it will likely make even more changes to the platform’s approach to illegal content and moderation.