In mid-August, the developers of Telegram Messenger updated the privacy policy in accordance with the GDPR, but this information has only just become known.
In the updated rules, a clause appeared stating that, upon receiving a court order, messenger developers may provide information about a user to law enforcement (if they are suspected of terrorism). The user’s IP address and phone number may be transferred to the special services.
The rules emphasize that this has never happened before. In the future, it will be possible to follow these incidents via the Telegram channel https://t.me/transparency, created specifically for this purpose.
Since Pavel Durov had repeatedly stated that the messenger team never transfers user data to third parties, the company’s head now has to explain the changes made to the rules. Durov writes in his Telegram channel that the updated rules do not concern Russian special services:
“This summer, we created Telegram’s comprehensive privacy policy in order to comply with the new European laws on the protection of personal data.
In the privacy policy, we reserved the right to transfer the IP address and phone number of terrorists to the appropriate authorities by court decision. Whether or not we exercise this right, such a measure should make Telegram a less attractive platform for those engaged in terrorist propaganda here.
Could this change lead to an end to attempts to block Telegram in Russia?I don’t think so, for two reasons:
- In Russia, Telegram is not required to hand over the number and IP address of terrorists by court decision, but something fundamentally different: access to messages and to all users.
- Telegram in Russia is outside the law. Hundreds of IP addresses are blocked every day in order to prevent access to the service. In this regard, we do not anticipate any appeal from Russian services, and our privacy policy does not apply to the situation in Russia.
Therefore, we continue to resist.”
Pavel Chikov, head of the Agora international human rights defense group, which represents Telegram’s legal interests, commented on the change to the privacy policy in an interview with Code representatives Durov. At the same time, Chikov recalled that Agora’s lawyers are not the company’s representatives in all areas. Their mandate is limited to routine matters related to requirements for providing encryption keys and blocking.
“I would say this is the right direction. As representatives of Telegram, we have never denied the rights and even the obligations of the authorities in the fight against terrorism; on the contrary, we proposed such a civilized method: a judicial investigation in exchange for disclosure. And not even correspondence, but only the IP and phone number.
A balance between national security and privacy must be found. Telegram offers its own version. The FSB has offered nothing,” says Chikov.
Artem Kozlyuk, head of the non-profit organization Roskomsvoboda, calls these changes logical:
“Almost all foreign companies, not only Facebook and Google but also the smaller ones, publish reports on requests from special services every six months, which is considered good practice. On the other hand, such publicity about this process reduces the risk of arbitrariness on the part of the special services. Therefore, updating the messenger’s privacy policy is quite logical.”
Kozlyuk also noted that the new rules concern suspicion of terrorism, but not “extremism”. “Thus, the list of people against whom sanctions can be applied is significantly reduced,” he explains.
