"The Dark Side of Telegram: Anonymity, Encryption, and Criminal Activity"

Telegram, the widely used messaging application, is under increasing scrutiny in India due to its emergence as a hotspot for various criminal activities. The platform, known for its strong emphasis on user privacy and security, has unfortunately become a preferred medium for illicit operations ranging from the distribution of leaked exam papers to the dissemination of child pornography and involvement in stock price manipulation and extortion schemes. According to cyber experts, law enforcement officials, and former government representatives, Telegram's anonymity features and lack of stringent content moderation have led to it being compared to the dark web in terms of the breadth and variety of illegal activities it facilitates.

The scrutiny on Telegram has been particularly intense following the arrest of its CEO, Pavel Durov, in France. The arrest was linked to accusations of failing to adequately address criminal activities on the platform, including the proliferation of child sexual abuse material. This high-profile incident has cast a global spotlight on the challenges posed by Telegram for law enforcement agencies and digital content moderators. The Paris prosecutor's office stated that the investigation into Durov involves serious crimes, including child pornography, drug trafficking, fraud, and a refusal to share information with authorities.

Telegram, which was launched in 2013 by Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolai, has grown exponentially, boasting 950 million users as of 2024, up from 550 million in 2022. Despite its popularity, the platform has faced criticism for its reluctance to cooperate with law enforcement, both in India and globally. In India, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) uncovered a stock price rigging racket operated via Telegram, leading to the indictment of the owner of a Telegram group for receiving substantial commissions in a scheme involving a listed steel sheet manufacturing firm.

Additionally, Telegram has been implicated in a range of fraudulent activities, including impersonation scams and leaked exam papers. In one notable incident, two individuals from Bhopal were arrested for defrauding a local doctor of ₹38 lakh by impersonating police officers on Telegram. Furthermore, the platform was central to a controversy involving the UGC-NET exam, where leaked questions shared on Telegram led to the exam's cancellation, impacting around 900,000 applicants. Similar incidents occurred with the NEET-UG medical entrance exam, prompting a federal investigation and Supreme Court intervention.

Law enforcement officials, such as those from the Delhi Police cybercrime unit, have highlighted the significant challenges posed by Telegram's features. The ability of users to hide their phone numbers and operate under pseudonyms makes it difficult to identify individuals involved in criminal activities. Moreover, Telegram's cooperation with Indian authorities has been minimal, with reports indicating that the platform responds to only about 20% of requests for data.

Despite appointing an India-based grievance officer and nodal contact following the notification of IT Rules 2021, Telegram has been criticized for its lack of proactive content moderation and transparency. The platform does not publish a monthly transparency report as required by the IT Rules, instead relying on its @transparency bot to provide limited information on its efforts to combat child abuse material. The Indian IT ministry had issued a notice in October 2023, urging Telegram and other platforms to remove child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and implement measures to proactively detect and remove such content.

Experts have questioned Telegram's claims of end-to-end encryption (E2EE). While Telegram advertises its "Secret Chats" as E2EE, all other communications, including group messages and channels, are encrypted only between the client and the server, meaning that Telegram retains access to this data. Cryptography specialists argue that Telegram's encryption methods are non-standard and lack the robustness required for full security assurance.

Furthermore, cyber experts have highlighted the platform's appeal to cybercriminals due to its lack of content moderation and ability to automate criminal activities through its bot functionality and API access. For example, Telegram has been used to deploy bots that can extract personal information from breached databases, as evidenced by a 2023 incident where a bot was created to reveal personal details of COVID-19 vaccine recipients in India.

In conclusion, while Telegram has been celebrated for its commitment to user privacy and security, its design choices and features have also made it a haven for various illegal activities. This duality poses a significant challenge for law enforcement agencies and raises questions about the platform's responsibilities and obligations in preventing and moderating harmful content. As scrutiny intensifies, Telegram may need to reassess its policies and approach to cooperation with law enforcement to mitigate its growing reputation as a platform tailored for cybercriminals.