Pavel Durov, the CEO of the application, stated in his statement on September 23, 2023 that the IP addresses and phone numbers of users who violate the rules will be shared with the authorities. While this update raises concerns about users’ privacy rights, it is also emphasized that it contradicts Telegram’s previous policies.

Anndy Lian, an author and international blockchain expert, noted that this situation demonstrates “the ongoing tension between regulatory compliance and the protection of user data.”

“Such compliance could encourage other privacy-focused services to take similar steps, thus leading to an erosion of the privacy standards that users expect,” Lian said. she said. Telegram’s new policy comes at a time when concerns are growing about the potential misuse of the platform for illegal activities.

The change of policy took place on August 24, after Durov was arrested in France. This change was made as part of Telegram’s efforts to provide a more secure platform.

Durov aimed to remove all “problematic content” from Telegram Search using artificial intelligence algorithms and human moderators to create a safer experience for users.

Durov stated that these new measures aim to deter criminals and said, “Telegram Search is designed to find friends and discover news, not to promote illegal goods.” he said.

Telegram is the fourth most popular online messaging application with more than 900 million monthly active users worldwide. However, although Telegram’s policy change may come as a surprise among some users, this is a common situation in the world’s largest messaging applications.

For example, WhatsApp is known for sharing user data in response to legal requests. “Depending on the circumstances, we may disclose information to law enforcement authorities in response to an urgent request for disclosure when we have good faith reason to believe that the matter poses a risk of serious physical injury,” the app’s privacy policy states. The statement is included.

Meta’s Messenger app similarly complies with requests from authorities and shares user data. Since July 2013, Meta has complied with more than 301,000 requests from authorities, responding to more than 77% of a total of 528,000 legal requests.

This shows that the update to Telegram’s privacy policy is not only in line with users’ privacy expectations, but also that other major messaging applications follow similar policies.

While Telegram’s new policy revives the debate on the protection of users’ data, it also raises important questions in terms of the future direction of the application and user security.

Protecting users’ privacy rights and how platforms will strike a balance against legal demands continues to be one of the most critical issues in the field of technology and privacy.

Durov’s statements and Telegram’s new policy changes raise a number of issues that make both users and technology experts think and show that future developments should be monitored.