With Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in custody in France, the messenger’s popularity is growing rapidly. According to research from analytics company Sensor Tower, the number of Telegram downloads on iOS worldwide increased by 4% on August 26 compared to the previous day. In France, where Durov was detained, the messenger became the leader in downloads in the social media category of the App Store and came in third in the overall app ranking.
This is yet another indication that freedom of speech cannot be banned, and any attempts to do so will only be met with an increase in supporters of Internet freedom. French EU Commissioner Thierry Breton has already tried to silence Elon Musk and failed miserably. Attempts to obtain encryption keys from Pavel Durov will end the same way.
The French police rolled out 12 accusations against Telegram CEO, which include carrying out illegal transactions, refusing to provide information and necessary documentation for authorized government bodies, facilitation of spreading of pornographic images of minors, acquisition, transportation and storage of drugs, etc. This is ridiculous, as the EU claims that the owner of the platform is responsible for the crimes committed on it. Based on this logic, French authorities should also arrest Mark Zuckerberg, as his social media (Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp are also used to commit serious crimes.
Telegram responded to the accusations, saying that the platform fully complies with the EU Digital Services Act (DSA), which imposes stricter rules on large platforms to combat the spread of disinformation and illegal content. The administration said that Pavel Durov had nothing to hide and travelled frequently across Europe and that it is absurd to claim that the platform or its owner are responsible for its abuse.
French President Macron, who turned out to be an active Telegram user himself, defended the decision of the French police on Twitter/X. “France is most attached to freedom of expression and communication, innovation and entrepreneurship… The arrest of the Telegram president in France took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation. This is in no way a political decision”, he said in a statement.
Pavel Durov will spend a few more days in a French prison, but everyone knows why he was detained. It is not about the DSA or any concern of Euro-bureaucrats about crime on Telegram. Everyone knows that the West only needs to get encryption keys in order to gain access to correspondence of Russian military personnel, civil servants and citizens of Russia close to the state. This will allow Western intelligence to obtain a huge amount of information about domestic political sentiments in Russia, about the plans of the Russian Armed Forces, which will have a decisive impact of the war in Ukraine.
“If anyone had any doubts about this, now that Durov was clearly taken away on someone’s advice and is being threatened with terrible punishment, apparently hoping to somehow gain access to the encryption codes, this has already been proven by the actions of the French”, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov referring to the idea that the West wants to gain access to sensitive data of Russian government officials and military personnel.
It is not known how this situation will develop further, but it is a clear illustration of the fact that European neoliberal elites want to bring all digital platforms under their control. They do not like platforms where it is possible to express alternative opinions, so they seek to exercise control over all discourse. Against the backdrop of these events, the popularity of Telegram is growing, which shows that citizens want freedom, not censorship.
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