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Telegram Reports Spike in Sharing User Data with Law Enforcement
A significant increase has been observed in the number of user data requests fulfilled by messaging app Telegram for law enforcement agencies over the past year. The rise comes after French authorities arrested Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in August, partly due to the company’s long-standing refusal to provide user data in response to a child exploitation investigation.
Following Durov’s arrest, Telegram appeared to relax its stance on handling abuse reports. According to newly released transparency data from Telegram, it has provided phone numbers and IP addresses to U.S. authorities 900 times in 2024, affecting 2,253 users. This represents a significant increase compared to the majority of 2024, during which Telegram responded to just 14 requests for user data on a total of 108 users.
Telegram’s transparency figures also reveal that it handed over phone numbers and IP addresses to Indian authorities 14,641 times in 2024, affecting 23,535 users. Furthermore, Telegram disclosed that it provided the same information to U.K. authorities 142 times, impacting 293 users – a marked increase from single-digit requests under the previous reporting period.
The spike in user data sharing with law enforcement agencies raises concerns about privacy and security in the digital age.
Source: techcrunch.com
