Telegram founder and chief executive Pavel Durov said Monday that the messaging platform had removed more “problematic content” and would take a more proactive approach to complying with government requests. The announcement comes weeks after his arrest in France on charges of failing to act against criminals using the app.
Telegram’s search feature “has been abused by people who violated our terms of service to sell illegal goods”, Durov told the 13 million subscribers of his personal messaging channel.
“Over the past few weeks” staff had combed through Telegram using artificial intelligence to ensure “all the problematic content we identified in Search is no longer accessible”, he said.
Durov added that the platform had updated its terms of service and privacy policy to make clear that it would share infringers’ details with authorities – including internet IP addresses and phone numbers – “in response to valid legal requests”.
“We won’t let bad actors jeopardise the integrity of our platform for almost a billion users,” he said.
Durov was arrested on 24 August as he arrived at Le Bourget airport outside Paris on a private jet. After days of questioning, he was charged with several counts of failing to curb extremist and terrorist content and released on a €5m ($5.6m) bail. During the investigation he must remain in France and report to police twice a week.
Durov – who holds Russian, French, United Arab Emirates, and St Kitts and Nevis passports – initially criticised his arrest, but he has since announced steps appearing to bow to Paris’s demands. On 6 September, he said Telegram would alter its “people nearby” feature to present users with “legitimate businesses” rather than “bots and scammers”.
“This year we are committed to turn moderation on Telegram from an area of criticism into one of praise,” he said at the time.
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Durov, an enigmatic figure who rarely speaks in public, has a fortune estimated at $15.5bn by Forbes magazine but touts the virtues of an ascetic life that includes ice baths and not drinking alcohol or coffee.