Last month, Pavel was interrogated by the police for four days after his arrival in Paris. He was told that he might be personally liable for the illegal use of Telegram by others because French authorities had not received responses from Telegram.
This came as a surprise to Pavel for several reasons:
1. Telegram has an official representative in the EU who handles and responds to official requests. Their email address is publicly available to anyone searching Google for “Telegram EU address for law enforcement.”
2. French authorities had numerous ways to contact him for assistance. As a French citizen, he was a frequent visitor to the French consulate in Dubai. Some time ago, he personally helped set up a hotline with Telegram to combat the threat of terrorism in France.
3. If a country is dissatisfied with a specific internet resource, the common practice is to take legal action against the organization itself. Using pre-smartphone laws to accuse a CEO of crimes committed by third parties on his platform is a flawed approach. To create new technology is challenging enough. No innovator would create new tools knowing they will be held personally liable for their potential misuse.
Finding the right balance between privacy and security is complicated. It requires aligning privacy laws with the demands of law enforcement and regional laws with EU laws. Technological limitations also come into play.
As a platform, the objective is to have consistent processes worldwide while ensuring they are not abused in countries with weak legal systems. We strive to engage with regulators to find the right balance. Yes, we stand by our principles. This includes protecting our users in authoritarian regimes. But we are always open to dialogue.
Sometimes, Telegram cannot reach an agreement with a country's regulating authority on the right balance between privacy and security. In such cases, leaving that country becomes an option. This has been done many times. When Russia demanded encryption keys for surveillance, Telegram refused, and was then blocked in Russia. When Iran demanded blocking of peaceful protesters' channels and got refused, Telegram got blocked in Iran.
"We are prepared to exit markets that are incompatible with our principles because we are not driven by money. We are driven by the intention to do good and protect people's fundamental rights, especially in places where these rights are violated," says Pavel Durov."
This does not mean Telegram is perfect. The fact that authorities were confused about where to send requests could be addressed and improved.
"Claims by some media that Telegram is some sort of anarchy paradise are absolutely false. We delete millions of harmful posts and channels every day. We publish daily transparency reports (like this one and this one). We have direct hotlines with NGOs for expedited processing of urgent moderation requests.".
However, Telegram hears those who claim this is not enough. The sharp increase in Telegram users to 950 million has created growth challenges, making it easier for criminals to abuse our platform. Therefore, Pavel has personally set to ensure significant improvements in this area. His team has already started some reforms within the company, and soon Durov will share more detailed information about their progress.
"I hope that the events of August will result in making Telegram — and the social networking industry as a whole — safer and stronger. Thanks again for your love and memes".
Your grateful @TonPost