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Pavel Durov adjusted the rules in Telegram and talked about the issuance of IP addresses of criminals to the authorities. Should I worry about your privacy?

On September 23, Pavel Durov announced changes in Telegram. Now the messenger moderators can send the IP addresses and the numbers of those people who violate the rules of the platform and perform illegal actions. The innovations are associated with the ongoing persecution of Durov in France, and Telegram is accused of cooperation with the security forces.

Novyevropa briefly tells what you need to know about the new rules and whether it is worth worrying for your privacy.

What has changed in the rules of confidentiality

Telegram has expanded the criteria by which it issues its users to law enforcement agencies. Clause 8.3 entitled “Law enforcement agencies” now says that Telegram checks the actions of users suspected of committing crimes at the request of the authorities.

If a person has violated one of the rules of the messenger, his IP address and phone number are transferred to law enforcement agencies.

The rules for using Telegram clarify what violations of the law of the messenger can give a person to the authorities. This is a publication for prohibited by pornography, the sale of drugs, weapons and fake documents, as well as the “promotion of violence” in public groups and channels. Other actions that are prohibited in Telegram are indicated by the phrase “and so on” - that is, it will not work to find out for sure what to do in the messenger.

It is noteworthy that before Telegram reserved the right to issue only personal data of terrorists to the authorities.

“If Telegram receives a judicial order confirming that you are suspected of terrorism, we can disclose your IP address and phone number to the relevant authorities. This has not happened so far, ” wrote Telegram in paragraph 8.3.

Who and for what they will pursue in Telegram

In his post, Pavel Durov pointed out that according to the new rules, the messenger would more actively fight criminals. To do this, he gathered a group of moderators and allowed the use of special AI, which automatically finds illegal content in public domain and deleys it.

Durov also called on Telegram users to inform the moderators about the prohibited content in the search via the Search Report bot. In it you need to write about requests for which the search gives prohibited services like selling weapons.

The head of Telegram specified that changes in the privacy policy are associated precisely with the Telegram search engine. The criminals used it for their own purposes so that customers find groups and channels with illegal content right in search of a messenger.

“These measures should scare away criminals. The search in Telegram is designed to find friends and read the news, and not to promote illegal goods. We will not allow the attackers to put the integrity of our platform for almost a billion users, ”said Pavel Durov.

Do I need to worry about your privacy now

If you do not share personal information in public chats, groups and channels, then the situation does not actually change for you. The new rules do not concern closed chats and groups, since they are not displayed in the search. In the privacy policy, it is still written that secret chats are protected by through encryption, and the messenger does not have access to them.

But cybersecurity experts argue whether Telegram will become Telegram after changes in their policy to cooperate with the security forces of authoritarian countries and give them data to the opposition. Previously, the messenger claimed that he shared information only with the authorities of countries with a high index of democracy - it is unclear whether Durov refused this principle or not. Toronto Senior Researcher John Scott-Rilton doubted that Telegram would remain a completely safe place to discuss politics.

“Telegram advertising as a platform that is not amenable to the requirements of the authorities attracted people who wanted to feel safe and share their political views in countries such as Russia, Belarus and the Middle East.

Now many carefully study the Telegram statement and think about whether the platform will cooperate with the authorities in repressive modes? ” -said Scott Rilton.

Russian journalists and human rights activists perceive the news about changes in Telegram is much calmer. The co -founder of the “Internet Protection Society” Sergei Boyko noted that the security forces in the Russian Federation have access to the numbers of millions of Russians after a large -scale leak of 2021. Journalist Andrei Zakharov believes that Telegram moderators will not be able to physically process all the requests of the authorities of many countries, and Durov’s words about the enhanced fight against crime can be an empty promise.