Telegram boss Pavel Durov stated on Friday that the messaging app would deal with criticism of its content material moderation and take away some options that had been abused for criminality.
Durov, who was final week positioned below formal investigation in France in reference to the usage of Telegram for crimes together with fraud, cash laundering and sharing photographs of kid intercourse abuse, introduced the transfer in a message to his 12.2 million subscribers on the platform.
“Whereas 99.999% of Telegram customers don’t have anything to do with crime, the 0.001% concerned in illicit actions create a nasty picture for your complete platform, placing the pursuits of our nearly billion customers in danger,” the Russian-born tech entrepreneur wrote. “That’s why this 12 months we’re dedicated to show moderation on Telegram from an space of criticism into certainly one of reward.”
Durov didn’t spell out intimately how Telegram would obtain that. However he stated it had already disabled new media uploads to a standalone running a blog device “which appears to have been misused by nameless actors”.
It had additionally eliminated a little-used Individuals Close by function which “had points with bots and scammers” and would as a substitute showcase legit, verified enterprise within the neighborhood of customers.
The modifications are the primary he has introduced since being arrested final month in France and questioned for 4 days earlier than being positioned below formal investigation and launched on bail.
The case has reverberated by means of the worldwide tech trade, elevating questions concerning the limits of free speech on-line, the policing of social media platforms and whether or not their house owners are legally liable for prison behaviour by customers.
Durov’s lawyer has stated it was absurd to research the Telegram boss in reference to crimes dedicated by different individuals on the app.
‘A impolite awakening’
Katie Harbath, a former public coverage director at Meta Platforms who now advises firms on expertise points, stated: “It’s good that Durov is beginning to take content material moderation significantly however, similar to Elon Musk and different tech CEOs who run speech platforms have discovered, if he thinks this will likely be so simple as making a number of small modifications, he’s in for a impolite awakening.”
Telegram has additionally eliminated language from its Ceaselessly Requested Questions web page saying that it doesn’t course of studies about unlawful content material in personal chats as a result of such chats are protected. Durov didn’t discuss with that change in his message, during which he additionally stated that Telegram had reached 10 million paid subscribers.
Learn: Macron says no political motive behind Telegram CEO arrest
In a earlier submit on Thursday, Durov stated Telegram was not good. “However the claims in some media that Telegram is a few kind of anarchic paradise are completely unfaithful,” he wrote. “We take down thousands and thousands of dangerous posts and channels day by day.”
He stated the French investigation was stunning, as a result of authorities there may have contacted Telegram’s EU consultant, or Durov himself, at any time with the intention to elevate issues. “If a rustic is sad with an web service, the established apply is to start out a authorized motion in opposition to the service itself,” he wrote. — Sheila Drang, (c) 2024 Reuters
