Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, has provided statistics on legal requests from various countries for user data disclosure in 2024.
According to him, in line with the Privacy Policy, the messenger can disclose IP addresses and/or phone numbers of criminals in response to legitimate requests from authorities in most jurisdictions. This practice has been in place since 2018 and is not new for Telegram.
“In Brazil, we disclosed data for 75 legal requests in the first quarter of 2024, 63 in the second, and 65 in the third. In India, our largest market, we fulfilled 2461 legal requests in the first quarter, 2151 in the second, and 2380 in the third,” Durov reported.
He noted an increase in the number of valid legal requests from the EU in the third quarter of 2024. This was due to law enforcement agencies using the “correct line of communication.” Durov had previously mentioned that Telegram has an official representative in the EU and a hotline to combat terrorism threats in France.
Users can independently check the number of processed requests from their country’s authorities through the @transparency bot.
The entrepreneur emphasized that the latest changes to the messenger’s Privacy Policy were related to its optimization and unification.
“Our core principles have not changed. Telegram is designed to protect activists and ordinary people from corrupt governments and corporations, but we do not allow criminals to abuse our platform or evade justice,” added the messenger’s creator.
In August, French authorities detained Pavel Durov as part of an investigation opened on July 8 regarding an “unidentified person” under 12 articles.
The charges include illegal provision of cryptographic services, refusal to cooperate with law enforcement, complicity in the distribution of child pornography, aiding drug trafficking, and organized crime activities.
On August 28, Durov was placed under judicial supervision with a €5 million bail and the obligation to appear at the police station twice a week. He is prohibited from leaving France until March 2025.
In his first post after release, Durov announced enhanced moderation on Telegram.
In September, the messenger began promptly processing and responding to legal requests from European authorities.