Following his arrest last month in France over alleged lack of cooperation with investigations, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in an announcement said that the messaging platform will share user information with law enforcement agencies if illegal activities are suspected. This comes as a major policy shift as Telegram has updated the terms of service to accommodate the changes. 

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The new policy will include blocking users from searching for illegal content using Telegram’s search functionality. However, if a user persistently tries to access or share such information, the messaging platform will provide the details, such as phone numbers and IP addresses of the user, to concerned authorities following all legality. This major shift in Telegram’s policy aims to strike a balance between platform safety and user privacy. 

It is to be noted that Telegram is making use of AI to prevent the access of objectionable or problematic content, including child abuse material, scams, drugs, and more. 

“To support this shift, the platform is also using artificial intelligence (AI) to ensure that problematic content, such as drugs, scams, or child abuse images, cannot be found through its search bar”, Durov said. 

Emphasising that Telegram’s search feature is to facilitate finding new friends and finding news, the Telegram CEO said, “Telegram's search function is intended to help users find friends or discover news, not for locating or promoting illegal activities.” 

Last month, Durov was arrested in France for not ‘adequately cooperating with authorities’ over illegal content sharing through Telegram. Authorities accused Telegram of being complicitly involved in allowing illegal content sharing as well as an unauthorised use of encryption methods. 

Durov remains under judicial custody despite paying a €5 million bond for his release and continues to manage Telegram.