Ever since Durov’s arrest, Telegram has made few changes in its Terms of Service and Privacy Policy to combat the illegal activities happening in the messaging app.  

Telegram’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Pavel Durov claimed the messaging app will disclose the IP addresses and phone numbers of individuals who violate the rules to the relevant authorities “in response to valid legal requests.” 

The latest announcement was shared on Durov’s official Telegram channel, “Du Rove’s Channel.”

While boasting that Search on Telegram is “more powerful” than other messaging apps, Durov informed the public that some bad actors have violated their Terms of Service to “sell illegal goods.”

To combat the illicit activities, Telegram’s dedicated team of moderators has made Telegram Search “much safer” by leveraging AI’s features. He further claimed, “All the problematic content we identified in Search is no longer accessible.” 

If users still find anything unsafe or illegal in Telegram’s search, they can report it to the team through a bot called “Search Report.”

Commenting about Telegram’s recent updates, Durov said:

“These measures should discourage criminals. Telegram Search is meant for finding friends and discovering news, not for promoting illegal goods. We won't let bad actors jeopardize the integrity of our platform for almost a billion users.”

Earlier, Telegram’s founder was arrested by French authorities on Aug. 24, accusing him of fraud, drug trafficking, organized crime, promotion of terrorism, and cyberbullying. The court hearing that followed Durov’s arrest ordered a travel ban on the Telegram’s founder.

After his release, Durov—breaking his silence since his arrest on Aug. 24—criticized the actions of the French authorities, calling them a “misguided approach.”

He acknowledged that Telegram is not perfect and still needs improvement. At that time, Durov promised to "make improvements" in Telegram to reduce the presence of criminals on the platform.

Read more: Arresting a CEO for third-party crimes is a “misguided approach’: Durov