Telegram has dramatically changed its privacy stand on moderating private chats after its CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France. The platform, once praised for its commitment to private messaging privacy, has recently amended its FAQ section, toning down its approach to content moderation. This shift comes in the wake of accusations made that the company had not only permitted but encouraged unlawful practices to take place on telegrams.
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Telegram’s Changing Tone on Moderation
As it was covered by The Verge earlier, the FAQ section used to say, “we do not process any requests related to them.” This statement is no longer there; instead, users are explained how they can report the content that is unlawful via Telegram’s “Report” buttons.
The change was announced only two weeks after the French police detained Durov for alleged involvement in sharing child pornography and drug sales over the Telegram app. The government said that Telegram has been unresponsive during investigations on the several cases of terrorism it was allegedly involved in. This triggered a shift in the tone regarding moderation that was clearly identifiable in Telegram’s blog.
Durov’s Response and Telegram’s Future
In his first public comment since the arrest, Durov admitted the strains at the company, especially due to its exponential growth and the new user addition of 950 million daily actives. He agreed to increase content moderation on the platform, saying that changes had already been made.
Durov’s words are quite opposite to the Telegram company position which actively promoted the privacy and stated there is no need for more moderation. However, in a bid to clarify the changes made, Telegram spokesperson Remi Vaughn sought to convince the users that the essence of privacy is still maintained since their private chats are still secured with encryption. Vaughn also pointed out that Telegram changed no line of the open-source code it inherited and called for preserving users’ privacy but also implementing acceptable moderation policies.
FAQ Changes and Content Reporting
The revised FAQ now specifies that all Telegram apps have “Report” buttons for reporting unlawful content with a clear guideline for the users. A press team of Telegram did not reply to questions regarding the details of the removed language and the policy of the company concerning the content-related requests. Recent activities of Telegram can be considered as a turning point in the relationship between the company and moderation, as well as revealing the problem of the conflict between privacy and legal requirements.
