Bart Custers comments on Telegram’s catalogue of crimes
Instant messaging app Telegram is not faring well in the news – the reason being the illicit activities occurring on the platform. Professor Bart Custers helped Dutch current affairs programme ‘EenVandaag’ respond to questions about the platform.
Telegram often gets negative press because all kinds of activities are permitted on the platform. If something illegal is reported, there’s usually no intervention, says Bart Custers, Professor of Law and Data Science at eLaw, Center for Law and Digital Technology, on EenVandaag (11 September 2024). Illicit activities include drug trafficking, arms trafficking, child pornography and violence – so, a catalogue of crimes.
The founder and CEO of Telegram was arrested in France earlier this month for allegedly facilitating criminal activity on the platform. Professor Custers points out that if you facilitate crime on your platform, you're aware it’s happening and you take no action, then the platform itself is responsible. But even if the CEO were to end up behind bars, Bart Custers doesn't expect much to change as that would affect the platform’s revenue model.