TechFlow news — On January 7, according to Protos, the messaging app Telegram significantly increased its compliance with U.S. government data requests in 2024, providing detailed information on over 2,000 users, sparking privacy concerns.
Data from Telegram's transparency report bot shows that between January and September 2024, Telegram complied with 14 U.S. requests involving IP addresses and phone numbers of 108 users. For the remainder of 2024, compliance rose sharply, fulfilling 900 requests affecting 2,253 users.
This shift came after Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested over the company's prior lack of cooperation with child abuse investigations. Following the incident, Telegram updated its privacy policy to explicitly state it would provide user IP addresses and phone numbers to authorities upon receipt of valid legal orders. Previously, Telegram only disclosed such information in cases involving potential terrorist crimes.
