Telegram sharing data with Dutch Public Prosecution Service

For the very first time, Telegram has shared suspects’ data with the Dutch Public Prosecution Service.

“We have been dealing with Telegram’s unwillingness to share information for a long time,” a spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service says in a statement to Dutch public broadcaster NOS. The office is therefore “very happy” that the messaging service is now finally sharing personal information of suspects.

In twenty criminal cases involving child pornography and arms and drug trafficking, data has been released in recent weeks.

Until recently, Telegram refused to share personal details of suspects with authorities. The prosecution however would not say what data it received. But based on Telegram’s privacy policy, it probably involves phone numbers and IP addresses.

Telegram not only shared suspects’ personal information, but also removed numerous channels from its public search function. With this feature, many users ended up on public marketplaces of illegal goods. The platform also took several ‘bangalists’ offline in recent weeks. A ‘bangalist’ is a list with the names of women who, according to the compiler of the list, have loose sexual morals and are rated for their sexual performances in bed.

A spokesperson says the Public Prosecution Service is pleased that the chat platform is now cooperating for the first time and hopes that it will continue to do so in the future. “But we have yet to see if it is really a breakthrough, or if these are just incidents,” the spokesperson said.

In August, Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov got arrested in France for failing to respond to investigation requests into cybercrime and financial fraud on Telegram.

After his release in September, Durov promised that Telegram would share personal information of suspects that might be involved in criminal activities that violate Telegram’s Terms of Service with law enforcement agencies.

“We won’t let bad actors jeopardize the integrity of our platform for almost a billion users,” he said.

Last month, the Dutch Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into Telegram’s lack of cooperation. Last week, it also became clear that Belgian prosecutors had been investigating the chat platform for some time.