The news:
- Telegram’s recent policy update, which allows users to report private chats to platform moderators, may signal a crackdown on Nigerian and African groups involved in illegal activities such as sharing stolen content.
- The update, quietly implemented following the arrest of Telegram's founder, Pavel Durov, could lead to the shutdown of illicit Nigerian groups on the platform, including those notorious for sharing non-consensual explicit images and pirated materials.
- Reports from Nigeria have revealed a growing underground market on Telegram, where several groups facilitate the trading of stolen nudes and other illegal content.
Investigations by the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) exposed a disturbing trend of individuals distributing nude images of women across various Telegram groups without their consent.
The messaging app, known for its minimal supervision of user interactions, has become a haven for this exploitative content, despite several Nigerian laws criminalising such actions, including the Cybercrime Act and constitutional protections for privacy.
The platform, which serves nearly 1 billion monthly active users, has adjusted its moderation policies in response to Durov’s recent arrest in France in connection to crimes committed by third parties on Telegram.
These changes include new tools for users to report illegal activity in private chats directly to Telegram’s moderators.
“All Telegram apps have ‘Report’ buttons that let you flag illegal content for our moderators — in just a few taps,” the company assures on its updated frequently-asked-questions (FAQs) page.
This development could directly impact illicit groups that exploit the app's lack of oversight to conduct illegal trades.
With as many as 250,000 members in some of these groups, there is a large-scale exchange of nude content, often obtained through deceit or even outright theft.
The FIJ report detailedly uncovered how these groups profit from premium content recorded without consent, violating Nigerian and international privacy laws. Telegram's updated policy, if strictly enforced, may finally provide a means to dismantle these groups.
While the potential for these illegal operations to be curbed is encouraging, questions remain about how effectively Telegram will handle reports from Nigerian users and whether law enforcement agencies can engage with the platform more efficiently under the new policies.
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As Durov himself has pointed out in a post on his Telegram channel, holding platforms accountable for crimes committed by users presents a challenge, but the new measures may offer a step in the right direction, especially for victims seeking justice.
In 2023, the government of Somalia announced plans to ban Telegram and other social media platforms to stop indecent activities, content, and propaganda for extremism.
