“Two Scenarios” to Completely Block Telegram
The “Creative Private Room” forum on Telegram has a large amount of illegal underage voyeuristic content, which is traded through membership. Recently, the exposure of Taiwanese artist Huang Zijiao’s high-level membership status has attracted more public attention. After the incident broke out, the Ministry of Digital Affairs quickly “shut down” the forum, requesting internet service providers to stop resolving the domain of the “Creative Private Room” website in order to prevent the public from accessing illegal websites.
Further reading:
Huang Zijiao becomes a VIP! Can the stablecoin transactions on the “Creative Private Room” forum be traced?
According to a report from the Liberty Times, the forum operator, “Old Horse,” seems to have moved to Telegram groups and continued to trade and disclose personal information of victims through explicit videos. Zhang Xiuyuan, Director of the Protection Division of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, stated that they have already received information and started gathering evidence. If it is confirmed to be true, there are two scenarios in which Telegram may be completely blocked.
Scenario One: Notified but did not remove the chat room within 24 hours
Zhang Xiuyuan pointed out that they have received information and started collecting evidence. If it is “confirmed that the Telegram group exists,” “know the name/link of the chat room,” and “obtain conversation screenshots and confirm that illegal activities are taking place,” they can proceed to the next stage of handling.
After obtaining conclusive evidence, if Telegram has a contact window and it is possible to establish contact, the Ministry of Health and Welfare will first issue a notification for administrative penalties, requiring the platform to “remove the involved chat room within 24 hours.”
If Telegram does not comply with the content of the administrative penalties and fails to remove the relevant chat room within the time limit, measures will be taken to completely block the Telegram platform. In other words, all users in Taiwan will no longer be able to use Telegram.
Scenario Two: Unable to establish contact with the Telegram platform
Since Telegram is an instant messaging software from Russia, it currently lacks communication channels, and few countries can directly deal with it. Therefore, if the Ministry of Health and Welfare cannot find a direct contact window, resulting in the inability to notify administrative penalties, they can only directly impose comprehensive restrictions on the Telegram platform.
However, Zhang Xiuyuan pointed out that they have already obtained the email contact channel of Telegram and requested the official Telegram team to understand the situation.
Why has Telegram become a criminal tool?
Telegram has always been known for protecting user privacy, and its “highly private encrypted communication” has made it popular. During the anti-extradition bill protests in Hong Kong, citizens used Telegram’s feature of difficult-to-trace communication records as a channel for organizing actions and exchanging messages, making it a tool for citizens to resist the government.
However, the emphasis on privacy has also attracted the attention of criminals, becoming a hotbed for nurturing crimes. For example, the shocking “Nth Room” case in South Korea involved criminal groups disseminating various types of explicit images and videos through Telegram groups and charging fees for “entry into the room.”
According to Telegram’s official company policy, “All Telegram conversations or group conversations remain private among their participants. We do not process any requests about them.”
Due to Telegram’s ability to completely protect user anonymous data, to the extent that even chat room members cannot know each other’s identities, it has become a favorite platform for illegal transactions. The Chinese and Russian governments have banned the use of Telegram on the grounds that it excessively protects information security and undermines public interests.
Telegram is currently a popular communication software in the global Web3 industry and cryptocurrency circles. Zhang Xiuyuan also pointed out that many business models rely on Telegram. If Telegram is truly blocked, it may affect regular business activities. However, considering the rights of victims, in the aforementioned two scenarios of “notified but did not remove the chat room within 24 hours” or “unable to establish contact with the Telegram platform,” the social platform will still be blocked to protect the victims.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare also called on platform operators to actively monitor and prevent criminals from engaging in illegal activities through their services. They also hope that the public can play the role of “whistleblowers” and actively provide relevant information to enable timely intervention and investigation by relevant authorities.