German Telegram Polls Users on Data Sharing with Authorities

German Telegram users have recently received a notification inviting them to participate in a poll regarding the sharing of personal data with authorities. The poll comes after a lengthy debate between Telegram and federal authorities in Germany.

Details of the Poll

Only users with German SIM cards are eligible to vote in the poll. The survey presents four possible responses:

• I allow the transfer of IP addresses and phone numbers of terrorism suspects only by court order. (This is the current policy.)
• I allow the transfer of IP addresses and phone numbers of suspects in serious criminal offenses even without a court order. (This would require changes to Telegram’s policies.)
• Under no circumstances do I allow Telegram to share my data, including IP addresses and phone numbers, even for terrorism suspects. (This would require changes to Telegram’s structure and privacy agreement.)
• Abstain / I do not live in Germany.

According to the German publication Netzpolitik.org, over one million German users have already participated in the poll. The deadline for voting is September 5.

Implications and Reactions

The very idea of such a poll is unusual and raises questions about what Telegram intends to do with the results. It is possible that Telegram is considering changes and wants to support them with public opinion. Telegram has not responded to inquiries from Netzpolitik.org.

Journalists doubt that German users will agree to data sharing without a court order.

Technical Possibilities

The third option-refusing to share any data-could technically be implemented by switching Telegram to default end-to-end encryption, removing the requirement to link phone numbers to accounts, and collecting less metadata. If information is not available, it cannot be handed over to authorities. This is the approach taken by messengers like Threema and Signal. Signal, for example, can only disclose the date an account was created and its last use.

Background

The poll follows months of disputes between Telegram and the German federal government, which has been pushing the messenger to cooperate more closely with law enforcement. German authorities are concerned about Telegram’s capabilities, especially since the service became popular among anti-vaccine activists and far-right groups during the pandemic. At that time, Telegram did block some channels and groups.