Telegram cracks down on extortionists, founder Pavel Durov says

Messenger Telegram will start blocking channels that publish personal data and engage in extortion, Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced. In late July, he urged users to report any cases of blackmail or extortion directly to him or the Telegram team. On Monday, Durov received hundreds of such complaints. Based on these, many channels will be blocked by the end of the week.

Durov stated that blocking means Telegram has irrefutable evidence that channel admins posted defamatory content and later deleted it in exchange for payments from victims. Some were even caught selling so-called “protection blocks,” fees victims had to pay to avoid harassment.

He also warned admins against trying to create clones of blocked channels: “We will find you.”

Since 2022, several Telegram channel admins have been sentenced for extorting money from Russian officials and entrepreneurs to refrain from publishing compromising materials.