After the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in France on August 24, a wave of revelations has shed light on the platform’s transformation into a hub for criminal activity. Launched in August 2013, Telegram gained global popularity due to its strong security features and user anonymity, amassing nearly 900 million users. However, it has also been utilized for illegal activities, including deepfake-related sexual crimes and drug trafficking.
On Sept. 7, New York Times published an article titled “How Telegram Became a Playground for Criminals, Extremists, and Terrorists.” Based on a four-month analysis of more than 16,000 Telegram channels and over 3.2 million messages, the report uncovered more than 22 drug trafficking channels and cases of illegal arms trading. The article described Telegram as “a global sewer of criminal activity, disinformation, child sexual abuse material, terrorism, and racist incitement.” It further noted that Telegram operates like a “stateless organization” and has long acted as if it were above the law—though this might be changing. It also warned that patience with the app is wearing thin in many democratic countries.
That same day, Wall Street Journal published an article titled “How Telegram Became Criminals’ Favorite Marketplace.” It focused on the app’s role in facilitating the sale of illegal goods, including pedophilic content, stolen identities, and drugs. The report detailed how one Telegram channel advertised passports, identity cards, and selfies as samples for swindlers seeking to open fraudulent bank accounts.
The article also highlighted the scale of criminal activity on Telegram: “Thousands of channels and groups offer stolen identities to open bank and investment accounts, with some selling already established accounts using stolen information. A channel called Bank Store Online listed accounts from over 60 banks and cryptocurrency exchanges, with prices ranging from $80 for a personal account to $1,800 for a business one.”
Before Telegram’s rise, criminals typically operated on the darknet, a hidden part of the internet with slow, difficult-to-navigate sites vulnerable to law enforcement shutdowns. The Wall Street Journal noted that Telegram’s speed and functionality have made it a much more efficient platform for buying and selling illegal goods.
New York Times pointed out that Telegram’s unique features, like “channels” and “supergroups,” have contributed to its status as a haven for illegal activity. Originally designed as broadcasting tools for news outlets and governments, channels allow administrators to share large files (up to 2 GB) with vast audiences. Supergroups, reminiscent of “unruly AOL chat rooms,” attract many users but also serve as a tool for criminals to erase evidence quickly, as administrators can delete all content in a group with a single action.
However, Telegram has been slow to cooperate with law enforcement agencies. Svenja Meininghaus, a state prosecutor in Germany focusing on illegal hate speech, told The New York Times that other major social media platforms have established practices for collaboration with law enforcement. However, she noted, “we don’t get any cooperation from Telegram at all,” adding, “I can’t recall one case.” In South Korea, Telegram has failed to respond to over 200 requests for investigative data from police in the past 11 years.
