Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with a statement from Telegram.
Telegram, the social media giant co-founded by Pavel Durov, the Russian-born billionaire indicted in France, has updated its policy on private chat moderation.
What Happened: Telegram has rephrased its frequently asked questions, or FAQs, that previously assured users of immunity from moderation requests in private chats, reported The Verge.
This development comes Telegram CEO Durov’s first public statement post-arrest, in which he committed to improving content moderation on the platform.
Durov acknowledged the challenges posed by Telegram’s rapid user growth to 950 million, which he said had facilitated misuse of the platform by criminals. He assured that efforts to improve the situation were already underway.
The company’s FAQ page has been updated to reflect these changes. Previously, Telegram’s response to queries about illegal content stated that all chats were private and not subject to any moderation requests.
The updated page now guides users on reporting illegal content to the platform’s moderators.
However, it is worth noting that Telegram’s retracted statement now appears under a different question.
In its response, Telegram told Benzinga that this was to clarify how to report content on the messaging service.
“The update to the FAQs was made only to clarify how to report content on Telegram, including under the EU Digital Services Act. The removed text was never related to content reporting,” Telegram told Benzinga in a statement.
“In Telegram, it has always been possible to report messages from any group to the moderators, which functions as a forwarding option. Private chats remain private, although it has always been possible to report a new incoming chat to the moderators using the Block > Report option.”
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Why It Matters: This policy change comes against the backdrop of increasing scrutiny of Telegram’s policies.
After France, South Korean law enforcement agencies have also initiated an investigation into Telegram for its alleged involvement in the dissemination of sexually explicit deepfake content.
Meanwhile, concerns have emerged regarding Telegram’s financial stability, which could complicate its planned $30 billion IPO. Despite having over 900 million users, Telegram reported a $108 million loss last year, with revenues totaling $342 million.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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