In the wake of the deadly terror attacks in Paris orchestrated by the Islamic State (ISIS), the secure messaging app Telegram purged this week some 78 public channels in 12 different language believed to be related to the extremist group.
In an update posted on its public channel, Telegram News, the company that controls the secret message app, said it was "disturbed to learn that Telegram's public channels were being used by ISIS to spread their propaganda."
The company said it learned that its app is being used by ISIS militants after receiving reports of abuse from some of its users.
Telegram News also said that it will enable its users soon to report "objectionable public content" more easily through an update for its encrypted and privacy-focused messaging app, to be released this week.
It was through the messaging app that the ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks on a stadium, a concert hall and restaurants in the French capital, which left over 120 people dead.
One of Telegram's founders, Pavel Durov, told Tech Crunch that he only wanted a form of communication that "can't be accessed by the Russian security agencies." Durov is a known critic of the Russian government.
Pavel earlier claimed that the Telegram messaging app was used to send 12 billion messages a day as of September—a significant increase from the 2 billion messages sent using the app last May.
In a separate report by Tech Crunch, Telegram assured that the steps it is taking to counter terrorist groups using the secret messaging app will not curtail the freedom of expression of its users.
"While we do block terrorist (eg ISIS-related) bots and channels, we will not block anybody who peacefully expresses alternative opinions," the messaging company said.
"For example, if criticising the government is illegal in a country, Telegram won't be part of such politically-motivated censorship. This goes against our founders' principles," it added.
