The Tale of Telegram Governance: When the Rule of Thumb Fails
Protection of human rights, people’s safety and security, privacy, and freedom of expression on the Internet cannot happen through purely technical solutions. Tech platforms need a governance mechanism to govern the behavior of their users and allow their users to govern themselves.
This report focuses on Telegram, a messaging app that facilitates the development of various new kinds of discourses in online spaces. Telegram presents itself as an app that wants to protect people from censorship and provide them a safe and secure online environment. However, as this report details, technology solutions and “the rule of thumb” help neither Telegram nor its communities.
The report discusses the shortcoming of Telegram’s processes and applies procedural justice and collective efficacy to provide concrete governance recommendations that Telegram and similar tech platforms can use to protect their users and allow for users to govern and protect themselves.
Author: Farzaneh Badiei