Telegram's Transparency Turnaround: Major Increase In Cooperation With U.S. Law Enforcement After CEO Arrest

Following the August arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, the popular social network and messaging application known for its stringent privacy policies has sharply increased its cooperation with U.S. authorities. The platform provided data on more than 2,200 users in 2024, a stark increase from previous years, according to details from Telegram's own Transparency Reports bot reported by 404 Media.

For most of 2024, Telegram's data-sharing with U.S. law enforcement was minimal, fulfilling only 14 requests which impacted 108 users by the end of September. However, the final quarter of the year saw an exponential increase - from 108 affected users to 2,253.

Between January 1 and September 30, 2024, Telegram fulfilled 14 requests “for IP addresses and/or phone numbers” from the United States, which affected a total of 108 users, according to Telegram’s Transparency Reports bot. But for the entire year of 2024, it fulfilled 900 requests from the U.S. affecting a total of 2,253 users, meaning that the number of fulfilled requests skyrocketed between October and December, according to the newly released data.

"Fulfilled requests from the United States of America for IP address and/or phone number: 900," reads the company's Transparency Reports bot when prompted by 404 Media.

"Affected users: 2253" it added.

This surge in data provision coincides with Durov's arrest and subsequent changes to Telegram's privacy policy.

In September, shortly after Durov's arrest, Telegram revised its privacy guidelines, now stating it would provide user data, including IP addresses and phone numbers, to law enforcement upon receiving valid legal orders. Prior to this, the company had maintained a policy of only sharing data for terrorism-related investigations, asserting that it had never actually shared any user information under those circumstances.

The implications of Telegram's revised stance on privacy are far-reaching.

Telegram is especially popular with hackers, scammers, violent criminals, child abusers, and others not necessarily because of its message security (messages on Telegram are not end-to-end encrypted by default, and in 404 Media’s experience criminals rarely use the feature). Instead, it is the app’s social network-like features that allow for massive channels and group chats where many hundreds or thousands of people can discover and communicate with one another easily, and the (until recently) correct perception that Telegram was unlikely to hand over user data to the authorities even when asked to do so. -404 Media

The increase in data sharing with U.S. authorities does not just mark a policy shift; it's a pivotal moment in Telegram’s history - balancing the scales between user privacy and legal compliance. As the platform moves forward, user trust now hangs in balance.

The company is set to release its next round of transparency data in April.