Not only Telegram: Durov’s arrest could change social media for good
It remains to be seen whether Pavel Durov, the Telegram CEO who was arrested this Saturday in France, will be convicted. But if he is, the precedent could have far-reaching international implications.
Image by Getty Images.
It remains to be seen whether Pavel Durov, the Telegram CEO who was arrested this Saturday in France, will be convicted. But if he is, the precedent could have far-reaching international implications.
As the founder of Telegram, Durov is accused of not cooperating with law enforcement regarding crimes such as child sexual abuse, drug trafficking, and fraud. The investigation reportedly also related to insufficient moderation, with Durov allegedly failing to take steps to limit criminal uses of Telegram.
Naturally, Telegram denies breaking any laws. In a statement posted to the platform, it said that “its moderation is within industry standards and constantly improving” and added, “It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for the abuse of that platform.”
The thing is, this claim is not actually factual. Sure, many industry leaders such as Elon Musk are sounding the alarm over free speech, but Telegram might be the testing ground for European regulators who are pushing to hold platforms responsible for how they moderate their users and content.
The New York Times also reported that the app was on “the radar of law enforcement agencies around the world because terrorist organizations, drug runners, weapons dealers, and far-right extremist groups have used it for communicating, recruiting, and organizing.”
Your Telegram data is not safe, actually
With 900 million monthly active users, Telegram is ranked as one of the major social media platforms after Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, and WeChat.
The app’s growth has been significant in recent years, and its light oversight of what people say or do on the platform has probably helped. Unsurprisingly, to social media leaders allegedly concerned about censorship, Durov’s arrest seems worrying.
Musk, the owner of X who calls himself a “free speech absolutist,” has posted “#FreePavel” on his account, and Ian Miles Cheong, a conservative commentator, argued the arrest was part of a witch hunt.
"This is about silencing dissent and controlling information. They want to turn the internet into another arm of their propaganda machine. We're watching freedom of speech being attacked right before our eyes," Cheong posted.
undefined Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) August 25, 2024
Edward Snowden, safely residing in Russia for years, also chipped in, calling Durov’s arrest “an assault on the basic human rights of speech and association.”
Many Telegram users are worried – at least until the authorities in France disclose more information about Durov’s arrest. Even though the app boasts that it strictly safeguards user data through encryption, many security experts say that Telegram is actually not sufficiently encrypted.
“Telegram has full access to all of the content of group chats and regular one-to-one chats due to lack of end-to-end encryption,” said GrapheneOS, a security and privacy-focused mobile OS.
“Telegram has heavily participated in misinformation campaigns targeting actual private messaging apps with always enabled, properly implemented end-to-end encryption such as Signal. Should stop getting any advice from anyone who told you to use Telegram as a private messenger.
John Scott-Railton, senior researcher at Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, added: “Absence of end-to-end encryption across much of the platform means Telegram has the keys, and could technically be compelled to moderate and give governments access to that user activity.”
According to experts, the French authorities could try to force Telegram to share information with them on criminal channels. No wonder these users – most of them have moved to Telegram after other platforms such as Facebook or WhatsApp banned them – are alarmed.
Users are scrambling
Curiously, it’s not only regular users who are publicly expressing concern. Russian military bloggers are pointing out that Telegram has become the main communication medium for Russian troops in Ukraine.
According to Le Monde, a French daily, panic now dominates on pro-war Russian Telegram channels where information about movements at the frontline is exchanged regularly.
Durov has been attempting to distance his platform from its Russian roots – Telegram was created in 2013 – but some experts argue that Telegram might actually be working with Moscow.
Meduza, an independent news outlet operating from Riga, has also reported that instructions have been passed around to the Russian general staff requiring that they stop using the app. The fear is that Durov will give the encryption keys to Western intelligence agencies, especially because he might be cooperating with the French.
Telegram’s relationship with the Kremlin is complex. Russia banned the app in the country in 2018 but lifted the restriction after the company agreed to help the government with “extremism investigations.”
Durov has been attempting to distance his platform from its Russian roots – Telegram was created in 2013 – but some experts argue that Telegram might actually be working with Moscow.
Numerous Russian dissidents have had their accounts compromised since the war on Ukraine began, according to Wired, and Telegram has servers in Dubai – friendly to the Kremlin – and Russia, where the autocratic government can control data transfers.
Growing intolerance?
However, Durov’s ties to the Kremlin are probably not what France is targeting. As Timothy Koskie, a researcher at the School of Media and Communications at the University of Sydney, points out, “There is a push to either hold the platforms responsible for illegal content or to provide details on the users that post it.”
As mentioned above, Telegram hosts numerous groups organizing criminal activity like selling drugs or weapons and recruiting would-be radicals.
For example, Telegram use surged in the United Kingdom after rioting began in the country this summer. Far-right extremists used the platform to organize further attacks on immigration-related sites.
Alexander Vindman, a key witness in the impeachment trial against former US President Donald Trump, even issued a warning to Musk, suggesting he might be detained, too.
“There’s a growing intolerance for platforming disinformation and malign influence and a growing appetite for accountability. Musk should be nervous,” Vindman wrote on X before calling his critics “MAGA tech bros free speech absolutists weirdos.”
While Durov holds French citizenship, is arrested for violating French law, this has broader implications for other social media, including Twitter. There’s a growing intolerance for platforming disinfo & malign influence & a growing appetite for accountability. Musk should be… https://t.co/GyPMquKtKV
undefined Alexander S. Vindman ❎ (@AVindman) August 25, 2024
There is, of course, little chance Musk could be arrested, perhaps because, unlike Durov, he is a US citizen. But Durov’s arrest is indeed unprecedented and could signal a change in attitude to what’s going on inside social media platforms.
“If he is charged and successfully prosecuted, it could lay the groundwork for France to take wider actions against not only tech platforms but also their owners. It could also embolden nations around the world – in the West and beyond – to undertake their own investigation,” said Koskie.
Leonid Ragozin, an independent Russian journalist now living in Latvia, added that he saw both X and Telegram as similar sources of a poisonous environment online.
“I’ve been following far-right and warmongering communities on Twitter and Telegram for the last ten years, which is why I am very much in favor of an e-Nurnberg focusing on the Russo-Ukrainian war and other conflicts,” said Ragozin.