Founder of Telegram Arrested in France on Charges Related to Messenger
On August 25, 2024, the founder of Telegram Pavel Durov was arrested in France on charges related to his messenger. The French authorities suspect that Telegram was used to support various criminal acts, such as drug trafficking, terrorism, and cybercrime. In particular, the functions of the messenger, such as “people nearby”, attracted the attention of law enforcement agencies.
The “people nearby” function in Telegram allows users to find other people and local groups nearby using geolocation data. During her existence, she acquired an ambiguous reputation, since it was often used by attackers to persecute and track people. In addition, it was actively used in tools such as CCTV (Close-Circuit Telegram Vision) developed by Ivan Glinkin. This tool made it possible to enter the coordinates and receive a list of users within a radius of up to 500 meters, which made it convenient for use for criminal purposes.
Telegram users recently noticed that the “people nearby” function stopped working. It is not known whether this is related to a technical failure or is an intentional shutdown. It is also worth noting that on the eve, the function of displaying the meter of active users in bots ceased to work, which may indicate possible technical changes or updates in the messenger.
It is interesting that despite the shutdown of the function, users from the contact list are still displayed in the menu “people nearby”, and some users outside Russia report that the function continues to work in their regions. This may indicate that the shutdown is partial or regional in nature.
These events occur against the background of increased pressure on Telegram by European regulators, especially after the adoption of the Digital Services Act (DSA) law in 2023, which increased control over digital platforms and obliged them to take more active measures to modify the content. Disconnecting the function “people nearby” can be associated with this pressure and the recent abuses of this function.