In the wake of Telegram Chief Pavel Durov's arrest in Paris for alleged offenses related to his messaging app, the Indian IT Ministry has reached out to the Ministry of Home Affairs for an update on the situation in the Indian context, according to sources. An email query sent to the IT Ministry regarding the issue did not receive an immediate reply.
Sources revealed that the IT Ministry has requested the Ministry of Home Affairs to investigate any pending complaints against Telegram in India and to determine what actions can be taken in response to the situation in France.
It was emphasized that the IT Ministry does not handle investigations and that CERT-In under the Ministry primarily focuses on cybersecurity offenses rather than cybercrimes in general. Sources highlighted that the key questions at hand include whether there are any complaints, the status of the situation in India, and what actions are necessary.
In response to inquiries about whether Telegram, as a messaging app, could claim protection under the safe harbor clause, sources indicated that they would be required to cooperate with law enforcement agencies, provide necessary information, and assist with any investigations if they chose to do so.
The detention of Telegram's founder and CEO at Paris airport was based on an arrest warrant alleging that the platform was used for offenses such as money laundering and drug trafficking. Pavel Durov, a dual citizen of France and Russia, aged 39, was taken into custody at Paris-Le Bourget Airport upon arriving from Azerbaijan, as per reports.
What is Telegram?
Telegram is an app that allows for one-on-one conversations, group chats, and large "channels" that let people broadcast messages to subscribers. Unlike rivals such as Meta's WhatsApp, Telegram's group chats can include as many as 200,000 people, while WhatsApp's maximum is 1,024. Experts have raised concerns that misinformation can easily spread in group chats of this size.
While Telegram offers encryption for their communications, it's important to note that this feature is not on by default. Users need to manually switch on the option to encrypt their chats, and it doesn't work with group chats. This differs from rival apps like Signal and Facebook Messenger, where chats are encrypted end-to-end by default.
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Inputs from PTI
