Telegram, the popular messaging app, is under intense scrutiny in India due to its growing role in various criminal activities. The platform, which boasts approximately 950 million users, has come under fire for its involvement in distributing illegal content, such as leaked exam papers, child pornography, and facilitating stock price manipulation and extortion. This has led to comparisons with the dark web by cyber experts and law enforcement officials.
The situation gained global attention when Telegram’s CEO, Pavel Durov, was detained in France on allegations of insufficient efforts to combat crime on the app. This includes the spread of child sexual abuse material. The Paris prosecutor’s office is investigating Durov for his involvement in crimes related to illicit transactions, child pornography, fraud, and his alleged failure to cooperate with authorities.
Telegram, founded by Pavel and Nikolai Durov in 2013, has consistently denied responsibility for misuse of its platform. The company argues that it is absurd to hold the platform or its owner accountable for such abuses. Despite this, concerns have escalated, with incidents like the cancellation of the UGC-NET exam due to a question paper leak on Telegram and the exposure of NEET-UG exam questions a day before the test.
Law enforcement officials have highlighted the challenges in addressing criminal activities on Telegram. The platform’s anonymity features, such as hiding phone numbers and using only usernames, complicate investigations. Cooperation from Telegram has been criticized as inadequate, with the platform often providing limited information, such as last login IP addresses, which are frequently unhelpful.
Former officials have pointed out Telegram’s historical reluctance to comply with regulatory requirements. While Telegram has appointed an India-based grievance officer and opened an office in Gurugram, compliance with content removal requests has been inconsistent. Transparency issues persist, with Telegram failing to publish a monthly transparency report as required under IT Rules 2021.
Experts have criticized Telegram’s claims of end-to-end encryption, noting that only its “Secret Chats” are truly encrypted. Other communications, such as group messages and broadcast channels, are not end-to-end encrypted, allowing Telegram access to their content. This raises concerns about the platform’s responsibility in moderating content and preventing illegal activities.
Anand Venkatanarayanan, co-founder and CTO of DeepStrat, has described Telegram as a “social media for cyber criminals,” likening it to the Silk Road dark web marketplace. He argues that Telegram’s design choices and lack of content moderation facilitate criminal activities. Bots and API access on Telegram can be exploited for illegal purposes, such as accessing personal information from breached databases.
Overall, the scrutiny on Telegram reflects growing concerns about its role in facilitating and perpetuating criminal behavior, and its effectiveness in addressing these issues remains a contentious topic.