Telegram CEO says despite change in privacy policy platform is still secure

On 28 August, Telegram announced a change in its privacy policy, which has now opened the possibility for the platform to turn over a user’s IP address and phone number if there was a court order that alleged a user had ties to extremism or terrorism. [caption id=“attachment_5077361” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] Telegram co-founder and CEO Pavel Durov’s statement on change in privacy policy.[/caption] This change in policy was widely refuted by users across the world, and specifically in Russia, Iran, and other countries with authoritarian governments. However, in the latest development to this, Telegram co-founder and CEO Pavel Durov told Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) that the change in policy would not result in turning over users’ data to intelligence agencies, but the company does discourage extremists from using the app. [caption id=“attachment_4837161” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] Founder and CEO of Telegram Pavel Durov. Reuters[/caption] “We previously had no real privacy policy and had to come up with one this summer to comply with. We haven’t shared any terrorists’ data with authorities yet, but our theoretical ability to do so is another measure we’ve taken to discourage terrorists from abusing our platform," Durov told the publication. This move from Telegram comes after a Moscow court ruled in April that regulators could block Telegram if the platform continues to refuse to turn over the encryption keys. Further, Durov confirmed to RFE/RL that the policy change was sparked by the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a regulation, which came to effect earlier this year, that governs how Internet companies store and use personal data.