Durov clarifies Telegram's privacy policy and cooperation with authorities

Tengrinews.kz - The founder of the Telegram messenger, Pavel Durov, clarified the company's stance on privacy and cooperation with authorities.
In his Telegram channel, Durov stated that despite the apparent significant changes, the basic principles of the messenger's work remain unchanged.

"Since 2018, Telegram has been able to disclose IP addresses/phone numbers of criminals to authorities, according to our Privacy Policy in most countries. Whenever we received a properly formed legal request via relevant communication lines, we would verify it and disclose the IP addresses/phone numbers of dangerous criminals. This process had been in place long before last week," - Pavel Durov wrote.

According to Durov, to reduce confusion, the company took steps last week to unify and simplify its privacy policy across different countries.
He also reminded users that Telegram was created to protect activists and ordinary people from corrupt governments and corporations, and the company will not allow criminals to abuse the platform or evade justice.
Earlier, Durov announced that in response to legitimate legal requests, IP addresses and phone numbers of offenders could be disclosed.
Recall: an investigation into Telegram was launched after Pavel Durov was detained last month by the French intelligence services.
On August 28, he was released on bail of 5 million euros in Paris. Durov was prohibited from leaving France and required to report to the police twice a week.
It was later revealed that he agreed to cooperate with law enforcement and began providing information that could be used to identify Telegram users. Additionally, it was disclosed that Pavel Durov's brother is being compelled to come to France to give testimony.