Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov said on 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 function “has been abused by people who violated our terms of service to sell illegal products,” Durov told the 13 million subscribers of his personal messaging channel.
“Over the past few weeks,” staff had been reviewing Telegram using artificial intelligence to ensure that “all problematic content we identified in Search was no longer accessible,” it said.
Durov added that the platform had updated its terms of service and privacy policy to make clear that it would share details of offenders with authorities, including internet IP addresses and phone numbers, “in response to valid legal requests.”
“We will not allow malicious actors to compromise the integrity of our platform for nearly a billion users,” he said.
Durov was arrested on August 24 when he arrived at Le Bourget airport outside Paris on a private jet. After several days of questioning, he was charged with several counts of failing to control extremist and terrorist content and released on bail of 5 million euros ($5.6 million). During the investigation, he must remain in France and report to police twice a week.
Durov, who holds passports from Russia, France, the United Arab Emirates and St. Kitts and Nevis, initially criticized his arrest but later announced measures that appear to cave to Paris’s demands. On Sept. 6, he said Telegram would modify its “people nearby” feature to introduce users to “legitimate businesses” instead of “bots and scammers.”
“This year we have committed to transforming Telegram moderation from an area of criticism to one of praise,” he said at the time.
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An enigmatic figure who rarely speaks in public, Durov has a fortune estimated at $15.5 billion by Forbes magazine but touts the virtues of an ascetic life that includes ice baths and no alcohol or coffee.