Status: 07.09.2022 6:10 p.m
The messenger service Telegram apparently largely determines how it deals with deletion and data requests from German authorities. In almost 400 cases, however, he is said to have reacted – and repeatedly transmitted user data to the BKA.
A survey recently caused a stir: the operators of the messenger service Telegram asked users how the service could share data with German authorities. Three possible answers were given: no exchange at all; disclosure of data even without a court order; or cooperation only by court order.
The vote is remarkable. The law stipulates when a service like Telegram has to share information with German authorities. Such a survey plays no role in this. Or rather, it shouldn’t really play a role.
A little bit of cooperation
German authorities and politicians are struggling with Messenger about when Telegram will intervene in the case of criminal content. Officials only report cases that are particularly serious for them – such as death threats. Telegram cooperates – but according to security circles not in all cases that are criticized by the German side. The operators apparently decide for themselves when to comply with the law.
According to information from WDR, NDR By the beginning of September, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) had sent 392 requests for the deletion of content from security circles. In fact, 370 of these postings are no longer available.
Hardly any user data submitted
However, Telegram is apparently much more restrictive when it comes to transmitting so-called inventory data of the users – name or telephone number – to the authorities. A total of 202 such inquiries were made by the BKA by September. In 64 cases, Telegram is said to have actually transmitted inventory data in 25 cases. It was all about sexual abuse of children or Islamist terrorism.
Ambiguous service
The meaning of Telegram is difficult to grasp. In authoritarian countries, many critics of the regime use the platform to communicate anonymously and as securely as possible. The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj also publishes news and videos – and has more than a million subscribers. In Germany, on the other hand, Telegram has developed into an important platform for conspiracy ideologues and right-wing extremists.
From the point of view of the federal government, Telegram is a social network that is subject to the Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG). The operators are therefore obliged to take action against criminal content. In January, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) increased the pressure and publicly even threatened to shut down the service.
Telegram is said to have not reacted at all to attempts to contact German authorities for a long time. Letters from the Federal Office of Justice to the alleged company headquarters in Dubai could not be delivered.
Fake address in Dubai
Based on information from the research format CTRL_F the letters have so far been sent to a bogus address. In fact, Telegram apparently resides just a few kilometers away in an office tower in the Marina of Dubai. The messenger with 700 million users is said to be located on two office floors, on the 28th and 36th floor, without a company sign – at the reception the reporters were confirmed that Telegram had its offices there.
The authorities are still dependent on the goodwill of the company when working with Telegram. According to the federal government, at the beginning of the year there were first talks between German officials and Telegram representatives – including with the founder Pawel Durow.
Fine proceedings against Telegram
In the meantime, according to security circles, an exchange has been established in particularly serious cases. The actual headquarters of Telegram is apparently still unknown to the federal government. In the ongoing fine proceedings, Telegram has now commissioned a law firm to provide legal representation, the Ministry of Justice explains.
One thing is clear: Telegram sets the rules for the exchange. The service responded to detailed reports about the cooperation with a temporary radio silence, it is said. The German authorities are dependent on the benevolence of a company that has so far been elusive.
No information on possible cooperation
Telegram has not yet responded to current inquiries about cooperation with the German authorities. In a statement, the Federal Ministry of the Interior criticized the messenger survey on the intensity of the cooperation. “The impression is given that Telegram users are allowed to decide how Telegram should deal with official data requests,” said the Ministry of the Interior. However, it is clear that the legal situation applies and must be observed.
Incidentally, users were able to take part in the survey until the beginning of the week. The result: Most of the more than two million votes cast, 39 percent, support the disclosure of IP addresses and telephone numbers, provided a court order is available. According to Telegram, this option is already included in the current data protection declaration.
Second place shows how controversial the transfer is: only two percentage points behind was the radical variant with 37 percent. Telegram should not pass on any data. With or without a court order. No matter how the providers continue – the debate is far from over.