Telegram issues clarification on changes to its FAQ page: "The removed language was never..."

Telegram ‘changed’ its FAQ page after the recent 4-day detention of its CEO Pavel Durov in France. The company brought changes to the language of the page, sparking a furor online. Now a company spokesperson has provided a clarification on the same.

What changed on Telegram FAQ page
According to a report by The Verge, the response in the section “There’s illegal content on Telegram. How do I take it down?” was reportedly changed.

Previously, the Telegram’s response to this question read: “All Telegram chats and group chats are private amongst their participants. We do not process any requests related to them.”

The company updated with a new response, which says: “All Telegram apps have 'Report' buttons that let you flag illegal content for our moderators — in just a few taps. On Telegram for Android, tap the message and select Report from the menu. On iOS, press and hold the message. On Telegram Desktop, Web or Telegram for macOS, right-click the message and select Report. Then choose an appropriate reason.”

This essentially means that Telegram removed language from its FAQ page that said private chats were protected from moderation requests.

What Telegram spokesperson has to say on the change
As per the same publication, Telegram spokesperson Remi Vaughn responded by saying that the app’s source code has not changed.

“Private chats are still private too – although you could always report a new incoming chat to moderators by using Block > Report. Anyone can check Telegram’s open source code and see there were no changes,” Vaughn told The Verge.

He emphasised that the changes on the FAQ page was to make it clear how to report content on the platform.

“The FAQ change only made it clearer how to report content on Telegram, including via DSA. The removed language was never related to content reporting,” Vaughn added.