Telegram's Dark Side: How a Privacy-Focused App Became a Haven for Terrorist Networks

Telegram's stringent privacy policy severely limits collaboration with law enforcement agencies.

Umar Mohammad, the physician suspected of conducting the suicide attack in the Delhi car explosion, participated in a radical doctors' network that communicated via the widely-used messaging platform Telegram. According to Delhi police sources, Umar maintained connections with Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based terrorist organization. He detonated the explosive device near the historic Red Fort after becoming "alarmed" following the apprehension of two associates – also medical professionals – believed to be significant members of JeM's terror cell, in recent days, sources indicated.

To countless users worldwide, Telegram appears as just another secure messaging or social media application. However, this encrypted platform, which markets itself as a privacy-oriented, secure messaging service, is reportedly evolving into a hub for terrorism, criminal enterprises, misinformation, child exploitation material, and racist provocations.

Telegram was established in 2013 by Russian-born billionaire Pavel Durov alongside his brother Nikolai Durov. Throughout its existence, the messaging app's user-friendly interface, public channel functionality and, most crucially, its encrypted private conversation capabilities have propelled its global popularity and established it as a symbol of international dissent.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky employed the messenger to mobilize his citizens against the Russian invasion. In Hong Kong, protestors utilized Telegram to coordinate demonstrations opposing oppressive legislation. In Belarus, democratic activists turned to the platform to contest electoral fraud.

However, the minimally regulated digital environments provided by Telegram have simultaneously enabled extremists to reach broader audiences for self-promotion, brand development, and propaganda distribution. Terrorist groups including the Islamic State and al-Qaeda, among others, and extremist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah have transferred their communications to the app for purposes potentially including recruitment, fundraising, incitement to violence, and even coordinating terrorist activities while evading law enforcement detection.

When these issues were addressed at a 2015 TechCrunch conference, Telegram founder Pavel Durov maintained that "the right for privacy is more important [to Telegram] than our fear of bad things happening, like terrorism."

Two months following this statement, the Islamic State perpetrated its deadliest attack on French soil, resulting in 130 fatalities and 350 injuries. French investigators later discovered that the group had partially relied on Telegram and WhatsApp to coordinate and plan these attacks.

Since the Paris attacks, Telegram has revised its official stance and committed to removing ISIS accounts, bots, and chats from public channels. While ISIS propaganda persists on Telegram as of February 2024, its presence is often reduced and less stable, according to a report by the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), a nonprofit, nonpartisan international policy organization combating the growing threat of extremist ideologies.

Furthermore, a recent New York Times investigation revealed that Telegram's privacy features enable criminals and terrorists to organize at scale while avoiding official scrutiny.

The New York-based publication reported analyzing more than 3.2 million Telegram messages from over 16,000 channels, discovering that Telegram ignored illegal and extremist activities flourishing openly on the app. The investigation identified approximately 1,500 channels operated by white supremacists thriving unchecked on the app, coordinating activities among nearly one million individuals worldwide. At least two dozen channels sold weapons, while at least 22 channels advertised delivery of MDMA, cocaine, heroin and other narcotics to more than 20 countries.

Telegram's privacy policy establishes strict limitations regarding cooperation with law enforcement authorities. According to Axel Neff, who assisted in launching Telegram, the company's core team of approximately 60 employees, including 30 engineers, is insufficient to monitor the platform for criminal conduct.

"If Telegram receives a court order that confirms you're a terror suspect, we may disclose your IP address and phone number to the relevant authorities. So far, this has never happened," he informed Frontline in 2024.

In a 2024 Fox News interview, Durov himself stated that his company disregards information requests from government agencies that aren't "in line with our values of freedom of speech and protecting people's private correspondence." He even acknowledged that Telegram refused cooperation with the US congressional committee investigating the January 6, 2021 Capitol riots.

A Telegram spokesperson also told Frontline that the company maintains "very limited data" on its users, and "in most cases it is impossible for Telegram to access this data in order to provide it for the authorities."

"Police, governments and users are able to report content to Telegram they believe is illegal. Telegram processes these reports according to its terms of service," the spokesperson stated.