This moment marks a turning point in the history of Telegram, known until now for its impeccable stance in favor of privacy and its resistance to content moderation.
The recent arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in France has led to a series of changes that are already beginning to be noticed. The reason? French authorities say Telegram is being used for non-legal purposes, such as sharing child abuse and drug trafficking material. And the worst thing is that they accuse the company of not wanting to collaborate with the police.
The big problem here is that precisely that feature of absolute privacy and non-interference in chats is what has catapulted this app to fame. Now it’s what has taken her to the deepest, arguing that the platform has become the perfect place for illegal activities.
After he was arrested, Durov came out to say that yes, they are going to start monitoring more of what happens on the app. “Telegram’s abrupt increase in the number of users to 950 million caused growing pains that made it easier for criminals to abuse our platform,” he says.
“That’s why I made it my personal goal to make sure we significantly improve things in this regard. We have already started that process internally, and I will share more details about our progress with you very soon,” he adds.
The truth is that this has not remained just words. They have already begun to make changes. If you go to the Telegram FAQ page, you will see that there is no longer talk that private chats are untouchable. Now they explain how you can report illegal content for their moderators to review.
The second big problem comes now, precisely with its users, opening the door to a great debate. On the one hand, it is good that they want to combat these aspects and pursue them, thus protecting people as well. But on the other hand, many users are worried. They wonder, “Does this mean they’re going to read all the messages?”
The truth is that Telegram is in a complicated situation. They have to find a balance between maintaining the privacy that their users love so much while also making sure that the app isn’t used for illegal things. It is not an easy task.
Telegram is most likely not going to change its platform overnight. They will surely look for a way to maintain privacy as much as possible, but being stricter with complaints and collaborating 100% with the police when there is suspicion of something illegal.
In the coming months, it will be interesting to see what happens and how this change will affect Telegram. Will they lose users? Will they manage to maintain their essence while complying with the laws?
