In a recent survey, Telegram wants to know how much data users want to pass on to the investigative authorities.
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Telegram gives its users a say.
©Telegram
The messenger Telegram promises its users a say in the cooperation with the German authorities this week. In a survey on the official channel, the company wants to know from its users how much data they want to share with German authorities, including the police, in the future.
Users have three options
Telegram emphasizes in the post that the messenger does not pass on any information about contacts to chats to third parties. However, since the data protection declaration in force in 2018, it has been permitted to disclose telephone numbers and IP addresses of terrorist suspects by court order at the request of the government. In the current survey, Telegram wants to know from its users whether they support the existing data protection declaration. You can also vote on how Telegram should handle these cases in the future.
More or no data to authorities in the future?
There are different options to choose from in the survey. Telegram currently only releases IP addresses and telephone numbers to the authorities by court order. Around 40 percent of those surveyed have voted in favor of this so far. On the other hand, only around 20 percent of users like the idea of releasing more data in the future – even without a court order. The possibility that Telegram does not hand over any data to authorities, even with a court order, is represented by 35 percent of those surveyed.
Federal government called for closer cooperation
All German users can take part in the survey until September 5, 2022. Depending on the outcome, Telegram will reportedly adjust its data structure and privacy policy. Telegram could achieve the possibility of no longer handing over any data to authorities by switching the messenger to end-to-end encryption and no longer linking accounts to telephone numbers. The current survey was preceded by a long dispute with the federal government, which called for closer cooperation with investigative authorities.
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