A New York Occasions evaluation of greater than 3.2 million Telegram messages from 16,000 channels discovered that the messaging platform has been “inundated” with unlawful and extremist exercise.
Particularly, The Occasions discovered 1,500 channels operated by white supremacists, two dozen channels promoting weapons, and no less than 22 channels the place MDMA, cocaine, heroin and different medication have been marketed for supply.
The corporate’s founder and CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France final month, with authorities alleging that Telegram’s lack of content material moderation made Durov an confederate to criminality on the platform.
The platform subsequently up to date its web site to permit abuse experiences, and Durov has been posting on his Telegram channel, arguing, “Utilizing legal guidelines from the pre-smartphone period to cost a CEO with crimes dedicated by third events on the platform he manages is a misguided method.”
