Telegram: The name of Dr. Omar Mohammed has come to light behind the car blast in Delhi, who is being described as a suicide bomber. According to police sources, Umar was associated with Pakistan-based terrorist organization Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). He along with some other radical doctors was active in a secret group on Telegram where terrorist activities were planned. It has been told that after the arrest of his two associates, Omar panicked and set off an explosion near the Red Fort.
Telegram
Millions of users around the world use Telegram as a secure and private messaging app. But now this app is becoming a center for spreading crime, fake news, criminal content related to children and terrorism. Telegram was started in 2013 by Russian billionaire Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolai Durov. The easy interface and end-to-end encryption made it extremely popular among the people. It was also used as a medium for mass movements on many occasions like Ukraine War and Hong Kong Protest.
Telegram becomes the new weapon of terrorists
Telegram’s less moderated channels and groups have given terrorist organizations a safe platform for their propaganda and recruitment. Organizations like ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah and Hamas use Telegram to recruit new members, raise funds and spread violence. During the terrorist attack in Paris in 2015, investigation revealed that the attackers had done their planning through Telegram and WhatsApp.
Although Telegram later promised to remove channels related to ISIS, a report from 2024 shows that terrorist content is still present on the app in a limited form.
Telegram’s privacy policy became a shield for criminals
A recent investigation by the New York Times revealed that arms sales, drug smuggling and extremist propaganda are going on openly in millions of channels on Telegram.
According to the report, more than 3.2 million messages from more than 16,000 Telegram channels were scanned, many of which were linked to white supremacist groups and criminals. According to Telegram’s policy, the company keeps very limited data and a user’s IP or phone number can be shared only after getting a court order.
Telegram founder Pavel Durov says that the company refuses to accept government orders that are against the principles of free speech and privacy. He also admitted that Telegram had not cooperated with the US investigating agencies in the investigation of Capitol Hill riots (2021).
Telegram’s defense and official statement
In a statement to NDTV, Telegram said that its Terms of Service do not allow promotion of any kind of violence or terrorism. A company spokesperson said that Telegram removes millions of harmful content every day and has partnered with the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideologies (Etidal). Telegram also said that it is following India’s IT Act 2021 and takes immediate action when it receives reports of illegal content.
Special features of Telegram
Some of its advanced features make Telegram different from other messaging apps.
End-to-End Encryption: Messages sent in secret chats can be read only by the sender and the recipient.
Self-Destructing Messages: Users can set their chats to be automatically deleted after a specified time.
Big groups and channels: Millions of people can join a single channel due to which information spreads very fast.
Cloud Based Chats: Telegram’s chats and media are saved in the cloud so that the data can be accessed at any time on any device.
Bots and Automation: With the help of Telegram bots, users can play games, create polls or set automatic replies.
Privacy shield or threat?
Telegram claims that it is the most secure and private chatting app, but its privacy has now become a ‘safe zone’ for terrorists, criminals and hackers. Because even the company does not have full access to chats and channels on Telegram, it becomes very difficult to track any illegal activity. For this reason, things like drugs, arms sales, fake news and terrorist propaganda are spreading rapidly on this app.
Is the privacy of users in danger now?
Telegram claims that it keeps users’ data safe, but if the government of any country demands data in the name of “national security”, then this app sometimes does not cooperate. This raises a question: Is Telegram’s privacy more important than the security of users?
Today the name of Telegram is taken as a symbol of security and privacy but these features have now become alarm bells. While on one hand this app gives freedom to the users, on the other hand it has also become a digital hiding place for criminals and terrorists. In such a situation, now the time has come that Telegram will have to make its policies and security system more stringent so that public safety is maintained along with privacy.
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