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With Telegram using end-to-end encryption (E2EE) with its Secret Chats feature, it has gotten quite the reputation for privacy-minded people who want to speak without people peeking in. As is the norm with privacy-focused services like this, E2EE is a double-edged sword; it prevents bad actors from snooping on innocent victim's data, but it also makes it harder to track criminals using the service for malicious purposes. Now, Telegram's CEO Pavel Durov has stated they will hand over more data to governments when asked.
As reported by Bloomberg, Telegram's CEO Pavel Durov has been put in a tough spot. Telegram supports E2EE to help protect people's data, but it has also allowed criminals to flock to the service to keep their bad actions hidden from law enforcement. As such, prosecutors in France have accused Telegram of abetting criminal activity by refusing to share personal information about its users.
However, a change in the app's terms of service hints that Telegram may have been the first one to blink. The terms now state that, if Telegram receives "valid legal requests" from a government body, it will reveal a user's IP address and phone number. This is likely in hopes of staving off the recent legal heat that the company has attracted recently.
Much like the E2EE, this new rule is, again, a double-edged sword. This new stance will allow law enforcement to work with Telegram to catch and arrest those who use the platform for nefarious actions, but some may worry that this will allow governments to peek into what their own civilians are discussing and risk their freedom of speech. In this case, it comes down to how vigilant Telegram is with allowing "valid legal requests" for personal information, and when it will draw the line.
Still, this announcement alone may be enough to cause people to leave the platform. And while there are services like Google Messages that use E2EE, it may take a while for people fleeing Telegram to find a home they can truly trust.
With Telegram using end-to-end encryption (E2EE) with its Secret Chats feature, it has gotten quite the reputation for privacy-minded people who want to speak without people peeking in. As is the norm with privacy-focused services like this, E2EE is a double-edged sword; it prevents bad actors from snooping on innocent victim's data, but it also makes it harder to track criminals using the service for malicious purposes. Now, Telegram's CEO Pavel Durov has stated they will hand over more data to governments when asked.
As reported by Bloomberg, Telegram's CEO Pavel Durov has been put in a tough spot. Telegram supports E2EE to help protect people's data, but it has also allowed criminals to flock to the service to keep their bad actions hidden from law enforcement. As such, prosecutors in France have accused Telegram of abetting criminal activity by refusing to share personal information about its users.
However, a change in the app's terms of service hints that Telegram may have been the first one to blink. The terms now state that, if Telegram receives "valid legal requests" from a government body, it will reveal a user's IP address and phone number. This is likely in hopes of staving off the recent legal heat that the company has attracted recently.
Much like the E2EE, this new rule is, again, a double-edged sword. This new stance will allow law enforcement to work with Telegram to catch and arrest those who use the platform for nefarious actions, but some may worry that this will allow governments to peek into what their own civilians are discussing and risk their freedom of speech. In this case, it comes down to how vigilant Telegram is with allowing "valid legal requests" for personal information, and when it will draw the line.
Still, this announcement alone may be enough to cause people to leave the platform. And while there are services like Google Messages that use E2EE, it may take a while for people fleeing Telegram to find a home they can truly trust.
