Telegram’s Durov Reveals IP Sharing Since 2018 Amid French Legal Storm

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov disclosed that the messaging app has been providing user IP addresses to authorities since 2018, minimizing the impact of recent terms of service updates amid escalating legal challenges in France.

As far as the Chief Executive Officer Pavel Durov is concerned, the recently announced adjustments to the terms of service for the messaging app Telegram have not resulted in a significant number of modifications.

DUROV DOWNPLAYS MAJOR CHANGES

"My previous post may have seemed to announce a major shift in how Telegram works," Durov said on the app Wednesday. "But in reality, little has changed."

Durov, who was prosecuted by French prosecutors in August in connection with crimes committed on the app, made an announcement last week that Telegram has increased its moderation and changed its terms of service in order to discourage criminals from exploiting the software.

TELEGRAM SHARED USER IPS SINCE 2018

The developments were minimized by him in his tweet on Wednesday, in which he stated that Telegram's policy since 2018 has been to provide data from criminals to the authorities when it "received a properly formed legal request via relevant communication lines."

According to Durov, the European Union authorities started using the appropriate lines of contact, which resulted in an increase in the number of legitimate legal demands coming from Europe during the third quarter, BNN Bloomberg reports.

INCREASED EUROPEAN LEGAL DEMANDS

Durov, who was born in Russia, has been described by French prosecutors as the president of a corporation that has refused to supply law enforcement with data that could assist in conducting legal wiretaps on individuals suspected of committing crimes.

In spite of the fact that he has been ordered to remain in France throughout the investigation, Durov has denied the allegations.