Due to the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov in France last month over “crimes committed by third parties,” Telegram has quietly changed its policy so that users can report private chats to its moderators. The company made this change after facing criticism for allowing illegal activities on the app.
In his first statement since getting arrested, Pavel said Telegram will now better monitor what people talk about. He said too many new users joining recently made it hard for them to control any bad things happening. Pavel wants to fix this and make Telegram safer.
Telegram removed words from its help page that said moderators would not look at private conversations. It now tells people there is a “Report” option to send illegal messages to moderators for review.
French police arrested Pavel because they thought Telegram had been used to share child abuse photos and drugs without the company helping with investigations. Pavel said Telegram will cooperate more with authorities going forward to catch criminals misusing the app.
This policy update shows Telegram is listening to concerns and balancing privacy with safety. Only time will tell if the changes help address illegal activities while still protecting most users’ private chats.
