The Digital Resistance

📰 My previous post may have seemed to announce a major shift in how Telegram works. But in reality, little has changed.

🌐 Since 2018, Telegram has been able to disclose IP addresses/phone numbers of criminals to authorities, according to our Privacy Policy in most countries.

⚖️ Whenever we received a properly formed legal request via relevant communication lines, we would verify it and disclose the IP addresses/phone numbers of dangerous criminals. This process had been in place long before last week.

🤖 Our @transparency bot demonstrates exactly that. This bot shows the number of processed requests for user data.

✉️ For example, in Brazil, we disclosed data for 75 legal requests in Q1 (January-March) 2024, 63 in Q2, and 65 in Q3. In India, our largest market, we satisfied 2461 legal requests in Q1, 2151 in Q2, and 2380 in Q3.

📈 In Europe, there was an uptick in the number of valid legal requests we received in Q3. This increase was caused by the fact that more EU authorities started to use the correct communication line for their requests, the one mandated by the EU DSA law. Information about this contact point has been publicly available to anyone who viewed the Telegram website or googled “Telegram EU address for law enforcement” since early 2024. 

🤝 To reduce confusion, last week, we streamlined and unified our privacy policy across different countries. But our core principles haven’t changed. We’ve always strived to comply with relevant local laws — as long as they didn’t go against our values of freedom and privacy.

🛡 Telegram was built to protect activists and ordinary people from corrupt governments and corporations — we do not allow criminals to abuse our platform or evade justice.

Open letter from the French Libertarian Party in defense of freedom of expression.

Citizens, political leaders and defenders of freedom,

The French Libertarian Party launches an urgent appeal to all those who understand the vital importance of freedom of expression. The recent events, marked by the arrest of Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, must not leave anyone indifferent. Today, it is time to go beyond political divisions to protect a fundamental right that concerns us all: the freedom to make our voices heard.

On Sunday, September 15, we invite you to a transpartisan rally at Place de la République, in Paris. This rally aims to defend freedom of expression, online anonymity and to support Pavel Durov in the face of absurd accusations. Our stage will be open to all those who wish to express themselves on these crucial issues.

The accusations made against Pavel Durov are unfounded and disturbing. The state claims that Durov failed to cooperate, while Telegram has always responded to legitimate judicial requests. What is at issue here is its refusal to give in to illegitimate pressure, without a warrant, to spy on its users. This is not a crime, but an act of resistance to a state intrusion into our individual freedoms. And, of course, it is absurd to blame a platform like Telegram for the criminal actions of a minority of its 900 million users.

Durov’s arrest sets a dangerous precedent. Never has a CEO of a major tech company been treated in this way, without legal proceedings against the company first being initiated. Yet Telegram remains accessible and downloadable, only the company’s director is being questioned. This arrest, orchestrated in the greatest silence, has only one goal: to silence a voice that refuses to submit to state censorship.

Let us not be mistaken: this case is not isolated. All over the world, governments are seeking to restrict freedom of expression on the Internet. In the United States, Mark Zuckerberg admitted to censoring content at the request of the government. In Brazil, X/Twitter was blocked outright. In Europe, laws are multiplying to stifle dissenting voices. France, unfortunately, is also embarking on this slippery slope.

The Durov affair symbolizes a worrying global trend. If we do not act now, we run the risk of being the next victims of this censorship. Freedom of expression is not a privilege. It is an inalienable right that we must protect, today more than ever. If today we allow the State to encroach even further on freedom of expression and anonymity online, tomorrow we risk handing over to those who will take power a complete arsenal to muzzle all opposition.

This is why the French Libertarian Party, in collaboration with the Libertarian Party of Russia, is calling for a massive mobilization on Sunday, September 15, on the Place de la République.

We must act, together, to defend freedom. Because tomorrow, it may be too late.

What matters is your political opinion, if tomorrow you can no longer express it.

https://x.com/joanacotar/status/1832104885116154154 🐶✊

https://x.com/ton_society/status/1831586988820197458

#FREEDUROV #DigitalResistance

Over 5 million signatures 🎯

Sign the Open Letter here: @tgresistancebot

Discover the story behind the symbol of free speech and digital privacy — Resistance Dog

From defying censorship in 2011 to becoming the symbol of the #DigitalResistance movement today, find out why this iconic dog matters now more than ever. 🐶

Privacy is a right, not a privilege. Free speech is the foundation of a healthy society.

Watch now!

#FREEDUROV ✊