In his post, the 39-year-old indirectly addressed speculation that Telegram may strengthen its notoriously light-touch content moderation as a result of his arrest. "Our core principles haven't changed," Durov stressed, in a post on the platform. "We've always strived to comply with relevant local laws-as long as they didn't go against our values of freedom and privacy." This statement aims to reassure users about the platform's commitment to privacy despite recent legal challenges.
Durov attributed a recent uptick in the number of EU legal requests received and considered valid by the app over the last several months to European authorities beginning to use the correct Telegram email address. He indicated that this increase is not indicative of a fundamental change in their user data policies, but rather a procedural correction.
Yet since Durov's arrest, Telegram has introduced a series of subtle changes. In late August, the company's FAQ page read: "To this day, we have disclosed 0 bytes of user data to third parties, including governments." Now the phrase "user data" has been replaced with "user messages." This shift raises questions about the implications for user privacy and data handling.
Later that same month, Durov announced Telegram had changed its terms of service to prevent the app's abuse by criminals and would share user locations in response to legal requests. 'We've made it clear that the IP addresses and phone numbers of those who violate our rules can be disclosed to relevant authorities,' he stated, signaling a potential shift in the app's previously strict stance on user anonymity.
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