Messenger Telegram deleted a popular search engine called "Eye of God", which was used to publish personal user data, reports the Telegram channel "Information leakage", which one of the first drew attention to the removal.
In the description of the "Eye of God" account, a link to the bot is indicated, when moving it, the messenger reports that such a user is not found. According to the Telegram channel "Information leakage", the messenger also deleted other popular bots for searching for personal data: Smart Search Bot is the second most popular for punching, as well as the "Archangel" and Mail Search Bot.
In the Telegram-channel "Eye of God" it is reported that after the audit, the administration led documents "to the right legal channel according to recent amendments to the Law" On Personal Data "." The administration of the channel also noted that "in the legal sense, the service is a search engine." However, in the messenger, it has already appeared its analogue with another address that performs the same personal data search functions, reports the Telegram channel "Information leakage". The administration of a similar bot has not yet confirmed that they created the replica "God's eyes".
Earlier this week, Roskomnadzor sent the Telegram administration notice of the need to limit the work of bots that collect and distribute the personal data of Russians, writes Kommersant. According to the interlocutor of the publication from the supervisory department, the actions of the owners of such information collection services violate the legislation on the protection of personal data, and the use of bots - the right of data entities.
Cybersecurity experts responded by the Kommersant reported that fraudsters appeared on the network, which began to use special bots for punching with the aim of the blackmail of Russians. In particular, the attackers extort money, threatening to hack a account or reveal information about the actions of a person in the network of his native and colleagues, specialists told the publication.
From March 1, a law on changing the rules for processing publicly available personal data came into force. Now the messengers cannot post and disseminate published information about users without their consent. Operators must also provide users with the ability to choose which data about them can be collected, process and use publicly.