On September 23, 2024, the founder of the messenger, Pavlo Durov, said that the search in Telegram has become safer, and the IP addresses and phone numbers of users who violate the rules of the platform can be disclosed to the relevant authorities in response to justified legal requests of law enforcement agencies.

“Telegram search is more powerful than other messaging apps because it allows users to find public channels and bots. Unfortunately, this feature has been used by people who have violated our terms of service to sell illegal goods.

Over the past few weeks, a dedicated team of moderators using AI has made Telegram search much safer. All problematic content we found in search is no longer available. If you do manage to find something dangerous or illegal in Telegram search, let us know via SearchReport.

To further deter criminals from abusing Telegram search, we’ve updated our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy to ensure they’re consistent worldwide. We have made it clear that the IP addresses and phone numbers of those who violate our policies may be disclosed to appropriate authorities in response to reasonable legal requests.

These measures should deter criminals. Telegram search is for finding friends and news, not for promoting illegal goods. We will not allow unscrupulous individuals to compromise the integrity of our platform for nearly a billion users.”

– Durov said.

Earlier, Le Figaro stated that the administration of the Telegram messenger began to promptly respond to the requests of law enforcement agencies of various countries as part of cybercrime investigations. This happened some time after the detention of Pavel Durov in France, several days of his interrogation and the transfer of the founder of Telegram to judicial supervision.

Figaro found out that other countries started submitting requests to Telegram after Telegram’s cooperation with French authorities became known. One of the countries of the European Union (which is not specified), according to the media, received information about a group in Telegram, with the help of which about a hundred murders were ordered. Some requests for criminal cases from non-EU countries, including South Korea, are in the process of being registered in the French justice system. In France, as part of the case against Telegram, possible measures to combat channels and chats in the messenger, where pornographic deepfakes and other prohibited materials are “widely distributed”, continue to be studied.

The media also reported that the French authorities used a new law on cybercrime against Telegram founder Pavel Durov, which has not yet been tested in the courts. The law, known as LOPMI, was passed in January 2023 to prosecute IT executives whose platforms facilitate illegal activity or the distribution of illegal products. Paris prosecutor Laure Becco praised the LOPMI law as a powerful tool to fight organized crime groups that are increasingly active on the Internet. According to specialized experts and lawyers, this law is probably unique, since there is no similar bill in any other country in world practice.

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On September 11, 2024, the prosecutor of Paris informed the mass media that the case against Durov is indicative in terms of combating cybercrime.

“This case is indicative of the actions taken by the cybercrime service of the Paris prosecutor’s office,” Paris prosecutor Laure Becco told the media.

The prosecutor’s office stated that:

• Durov cooperates with the French judicial authorities and fully complies with the conditions of residence and control established after the charges were brought against him;

• the decision to start an investigation directly against Durov was related to Telegram’s lack of response to French investigators’ requests, for example, the platform’s administration did not respond to Paris’s requests to identify cybercriminals, “especially in the matter of child pornography”;

• a law has been created in France that allows prosecution for the administration of an Internet platform for illegal operations;

• French law enforcement agencies have expressed a desire to show that “organized crime is developing in a world that is too often considered virtual.”

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Earlier, France Info reported that Durov answered questions from French investigators in Russian and English. In order to obtain French citizenship, Durov took a French language exam and received a B1 level diploma (intermediate level of language proficiency), which, however, turned out to be insufficient to answer the investigators’ questions. As France info found out, Durov passed the French language exam in Dubai, and the registration for the test took place with the participation of the French consulate.

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Durov is barred from leaving France until March 2025 under a probation agreement. The ban on leaving France, the confiscation of all passports pending trial and the bail requirements were the result of ongoing legal proceedings related to his activities as chairman of Telegram and legal matters. Also, these measures were directed by the French prosecutor’s office to ensure the fulfillment of obligations and to prevent possible attempts by Durov to evade justice.

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On August 24, Pavel Durov was arrested at Paris Le Bourget airport. The arrest warrant was issued because Durov did not cooperate with French law enforcement, which makes him complicit in drug trafficking and other serious crimes. Durov is a French citizen and is subject to exchange or extradition.

Durov was formally questioned in France on 12 charges against an “unnamed person” from Telegram’s management team. The charges were not brought against him, but against this person, the Paris prosecutor’s office explained. Durov’s status in the case was unclear. However, Durov was detained until August 28, extending his arrest twice for 48 hours. Durov was detained and interrogated by members of the National Cyber ​​Unit (UNC) of the Gendarmerie and the National Anti-Fraud Office for almost four days since August 24.

On August 28, the investigating judge of France, based on the materials of the Paris prosecutor’s office, placed Durov under judicial supervision and released him on bail in the amount of 5 million euros. Durov is prohibited from leaving France until the trial is over.

The restrictive measure against Durov does not include house arrest, and therefore the businessman will be able to move freely on the territory of France. At the same time, he is obliged to live only at an address specified by the judge and to report to the police station twice a week.

Pavlo Durov’s lawyer, David-Olivier Kaminsky, considers the French prosecutor’s office’s accusations against his client of involvement in crimes committed through Telegram by other users to be absurd. Durov’s defense insists that the founder of Telegram should not be responsible for all the criminals who used his messenger. The lawyer will insist that based on this logic, Apple CEO Tim Cook should also be prosecuted, since many criminals use iPhones to access Telegram.

During the interrogation in Paris, Durov stated that he maintained contacts with the representatives of the General Directorate of Internal Security of France (DGSI, counterintelligence). In particular, Durov allegedly met with representatives of the French special services in Dubai, the Libération newspaper reported with reference to a source. Libération claims that after being detained in France, Durov expressed his willingness to cooperate and provided law enforcement officials with his mobile phone and access code.

Durov commented on his detention in France, clarified his opinion on the charges brought against him in France, and disclosed future changes in Telegram as part of the fight against content prohibited in various countries. Durov believes that it was a mistake to accuse only him of crimes committed in the messenger by third parties, because in such cases it is necessary to bring charges against the company, and not its general director. Durov assured that Telegram will start taking even more measures to fight crime.

On September 6, Durov announced that the messenger team had strengthened the security of the service. Telegram removed the People Nearby feature, which was used by bots and scammers and less than 0.1% of users, and disabled media uploads on Telegraph (a standalone blogging tool) which was being misused by anonymous individuals.