After Pavel Durov’s arrest in France, Telegram began transferring users’ personal data to US authorities much more frequently. In 2024, the messenger fulfilled 900 requests from US security forces, revealing the IP addresses and phone numbers of more than 2.2 thousand people, writes 404 Media, citing data from the Transparency Reports bot.
Author:
https://rb.ru/author/mihail-zelenin/
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According to them, the amount of data disclosed increased significantly in October-December: as of September 30, 2024, the messenger served only 14 requests, which affected the data of 108 users.
Last fall, Telegram changed its privacy policy: previously the platform revealed users’ IP addresses and phone numbers only in cases related to terrorism. The company now shares data with authorities in cases of cybercrime, illegal goods trafficking and online fraud.
The Transparency Reports bot displays information on the number of satisfied requests from law enforcement agencies in the user’s country of residence. According to him, the German authorities received data from 2,237 users based on 945 requests, in Spain – 518 people based on 213 requests, and in Great Britain – 293 people based on 142 requests, Forbes wrote. The Russian authorities did not send any requests.
On August 24, Durov was detained at the French airport of Le Bourget. Two days later, the founder of Telegram was accused of refusing to cooperate with local authorities in the field of cyber and financial crimes on the Messenger.
The billionaire was subsequently released, but placed under judicial supervision, prohibited from leaving France and ordered to pay bail of 5 million euros, as well as to report to the police station twice a week. In early December, a Paris court questioned the businessman for the first time.
Author:
Mikhail Zelenin
Source: RB
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
