India: Telegram must share user data after court ruling

When it comes to data protection, Telegram promises great things. But the social network has now had to pass on what is presumably sensitive data about its users as a result of a ruling by an Indian court. The reason for this is various copyright violations.

Telegram passes on sensitive user data

A few years ago, Telegram was still considered an insider tip for all those who were afraid of “data octopuses” like WhatsApp. However, at the latest in the wake of the Corona crisis and the ever-growing lateral thinker scene, the social network has gained sad fame. In various groups, conspiracy theorists were able to share their questionable views without a care in the world. This trend was felt globally. India is no exception. There, Telegram has now had to take a questionable step. Due to a court ruling by the High Court in Delhi as a result of a copyright infringement, the messenger probably released sensitive data of its users.+

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This includes full names, IP addresses and also phone numbers. Affected are the admins of several channels of the network at once, he said. Behind the complaint is a teacher. She asked online teaching materials for download in exchange for a payment. A report from Techcrunch shows that the content on the Telegram channels could be purchased for less money than from the teacher herself. There was no corresponding consent for this on the part of the plaintiff. Consequently, the court considered the allegation confirmed.

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Messenger silent so far

The fact that Telegram, of all companies, has now released such sensitive data naturally has a certain stink to it, given the company’s philosophy. After all, the company has always been committed to providing the highest level of data protection. It is therefore not surprising that Telegram has not yet confirmed the disclosure of personal data. Instead, a spokesperson emphasizes that the user data stored by the service itself is very limited. It is safe to assume that the company does have a lot of data about its users. However, talking about it publicly would result in a huge damage to its reputation.