Did you know Telegram Responds to Criminal Misuse Allegations with Increased Collaboration with US Authorities

 

After its CEO’s arrest in France last year, Telegram steps up transparency and cooperation initiatives.

The popular messaging platform shared transparency reports with the public that delineated more about how it was working hard and closely with authorities. This was related to fulfilling thousands of requests made by US law enforcement agencies.

The reports that can be found through a quick check with the app’s bot that comes with a verified tick revealed more details on the matter. In addition to sharing users' exact IP addresses, the reports disclosed personal details and named American law enforcement agencies involved.

The requests were dated between January and September of 2024 and it affected nearly 108 different users on the app. But after that, the figures underwent a massive rise to 886 between the period of October to December.

The total number of requests to be exact as outlined by the app was over 2250, which is a major figure. The surge has to do with the app’s promise of working alongside security forces to halt criminals from abusing the app’s Search feature. Before that, the platform shared that it never got any order from the court about a suspected terrorist being one of its app users so they didn’t feel the need to disclose this information.

With more than 950M active users, a few thousand U.S. cases might appear minimal to some. However, when you look at the bigger picture, it makes sense. That’s nearly a 6000% rise in requests made and fulfilled in America alone. Moreover, it’s a major sign that this organization is open to working alongside anyone to help keep crime rates low.

This policy change comes a few months after the CEO was arrested in France. He was accused of leading an app known to be involved in serious criminal events. For now, we can confirm that Telegram rejecting the claims does make sense. Durov’s arrest is a controversial topic where the CEO does admit that its growing user base is partly to blame for the surge in criminal behavior.

The app also continues to be called out for a rise in malware-related services including deepfake incidents and phishing kits. We also frequently hear about scammers sending users messages through the platform to try and trap them into their schemes.