Telegram CEO Pavel Durov posted on his channel that Search on Telegram was “abused by people” who sold illegal goods, and that the platform’s privacy policy and terms of service had been updated so that the IP addresses and phone numbers of offenders “can be disclosed to relevant authorities in response to valid legal requests.”

This marks a departure from Telegram’s tone in older platform policy notices, where the focus was largely on terror suspects and terrorists.

Durov’s note mentioned that a team of moderators was leveraging AI in order to make Telegram Search “safer.”

“These measures should discourage criminals. Telegram Search is meant for finding friends and discovering news, not for promoting illegal goods. We won’t let bad actors jeopardize the integrity of our platform for almost a billion users,” said the CEO, who was arrested in France and facing legal action over users allegedly abusing the platform.

A comparison showing the latest privacy policy terms (above) and an older, archived version (below) | Photo Credit: Data sourced from Telegram, Wayback Machine, and compiled on Canva/The Hindu

According to Telegram’s privacy policy, under section 8.3. Law Enforcement Authorities, the updated terms stated that 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,” the platform may disclose the user’s IP address and phone number to relevant authorities.

Telegram said it will disclose such data sharing incidents in a transparency report.

By contrast, an older archived version of the same policy section stated: “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. So far, this has never happened. When it does, we will include it in a semiannual transparency report published at: https://t.me/transparency.”

Telegram previously claimed that it could not be held responsible as a platform for abuse carried out by its users.

The message sent from Pavel Durov’s Telegram channel | Photo Credit: Pavel Durov on Telegram

Those who spoke in Durov’s defence after his arrest included NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and billionaire Elon Musk.

The French administration has denied that Durov’s arrest was politically motivated.