TON Price Jumps 6% Despite Telegram Bowing To Regulatory Pressure

The price action of Toncoin (TON) is not commensurate with the current state of the Telegram ecosystem. The coin recently surged while the TON ecosystem was caught bowing to regulatory pressures. As it stands, regulators have requested that the social media platform release its users’ IP addresses and the platform might soon comply.

Telegram Takes Pro-active Measures Against Illicit Activities

It has come to the notice of authorities that some people are abusing the Search feature on Telegram. Ordinarily, this feature makes it easy for users of the social media app to find public channels and bots. However, there is a group of violators now exploiting the feature to sell illegal goods. Unfortunately, the illicit use of the social network is already jeopardizing its presence on India.

A dedicated team of moderators have utilized Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to curtail the situation over the past week.

According to Pavel Durov, the incidence of unsafe and problematic content has seen a drastic reduction. Telegram is still trying to avoid any of such illicit activities and as a result it has decided to make available to regulators the IP addresses and contact details of any user that violates its rules.

This disclaimer was stated clearly in its updated Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Durov is optimistic that these measures would discourage criminals. However, it is also drawing criticism as many believe the privacy and free speech Telegram enables is being jeopardized.

Notably, Elon Musk also faced similar censorship challenge in Brazil in the past few weeks. However, rather than promise the turning in of IP Addresses, X settled with regulators for $3.3 million.

Fate of TON Amid Telegram Overhaul

The situation with Telegram is one of major concern that may ultimately impact the TON protocol. In addition to his earlier claims, Durov emphasized that Telegram Search is meant for finding friends and discovering news, and not for promoting illegal goods. While this move may hamper Telegram’s vision to protect free speech, Durov believes it’s the best step to take.

“We won’t let bad actors jeopardize the integrity of our platform for almost a billion users,” he added.

Durov’s decision to take this matter serious comes only a few weeks after he was detained and blamed for the wrong decisions of some Telegram app users. He spent a few days with the French authorities and once out, he promised to improve the general use of the social network.

Meanwhile, TON is currently trading at $5.68 after registering an increase of 6.37% and 5.17% in the last 24 hours and week respectively. This suggests that its regulatory hurdles has not caught up with the price yet, a trend that may change eventually.

Unless properly spinned, this move might have an impact on TON in the long term.