Telegram has revealed admin names, phone numbers and IP addresses of users from channels accused of infringement copyright, according to a court order in India.
The company was forced to share the data when a teacher filed a lawsuit alleging unauthorized distribution of course materials in platform. Neetu Singh, the plaintiff teacher, reported that some Telegram channels were reselling the material without permission at greatly reduced prices.
Telegram unsuccessfully argued that disclosing user information would violate the privacy policy and laws of Singapore, where it has its servers to store the data. As an answer, the Indian court stated that the real wrongdoers are the copyright owners could not do anything because Telegram chose to use servers outside the country.
So last week, Judge Prathiba Singh admitted that Telegram had complied and shared the data they requested.
But a Telegram spokesperson declined to state the same.
“Telegram stores very limited or no data from its users. In most cases, we can't even access user data without specific entry points, and we believe that was the case here as well. Therefore, we cannot confirm that personal data has been shared in this case.” Reported Telegram spokesperson Remi Vaughn told TechCrunch.
