On Saturday evening, the French authorities arrested Pavel Durov, the head of the communications service Telegram. Durov promotes the messenger app as being particularly safe from surveillance, which is why opposition members in dictatorships organize on the one hand, but also extremists, drug dealers and pedophiles on the other. Whistleblower Edward Snowden calls Durov’s arrest an “attack on freedom of expression and freedom of association”. The Kremlin mocks the hypocrisy of the West.

In fact, some of the accusations made by the French judiciary are questionable. Nevertheless, Pavel Durov is not a hero of freedom of expression.

The Russian-French entrepreneur is accused of not moderating content sufficiently and refusing to cooperate with law enforcement authorities. According to the French public prosecutor’s office, Durow is guilty of aiding and abetting drug trafficking, fraud and crimes related to child abuse. The argument is not surprising: the EU has obliged platforms of a certain size to delete criminal content under the Digital Services Act. Telegram has so far ignored the law without a hitch. This was followed by a show of force by law enforcement officials.

Another point of accusation by the French public prosecutor is problematic. They also accuse Durow of using encryption itself – the function that is supposed to allow Telegram users to keep their chats secret.

This article comes from ZEIT No. 37/2024. You can read the entire issue here from 5 p.m. Discover the issue

This is exactly the task of a secure messenger service: to encrypt messages so that unauthorized persons cannot access them. This also means not working with government authorities, not even with “the good guys,” who may be different depending on their worldview. Otherwise, users are dependent on the political views of the operators.

Telegram Messenger – Public prosecutor publishes list of charges against Pavel Durov Telegram founder Durov is in custody after his arrest in France. He is accused of aiding and abetting organized crime, among other things. © Photo: Albert Gea/Reuters

Encrypted communication protects freedom of expression, it protects private information from data octopuses, and it can save lives in countries like Belarus or Iran. Of course, it is difficult to bear when criminals exploit the structures that are actually supposed to protect basic democratic rights. But it cannot be completely prevented.

Z+

Z+ (subscription required content); Care work: The care-care-care trap

Z+ (subscription required content); Solingen assassin: “I am the one you are looking for”

Z+ (subscription required content); Markus Söder: Definitely not with the Greens

But Pavel Durov is not the unconditional fighter for privacy that he portrays himself to be. Firstly, communication on Telegram is not as secure as he claims. To ensure that no one can read what is being said, users have to encrypt their chats. The function is well hidden and does not even exist for group chats.

Second, Durov has apparently changed his mind about working with authorities in recent years. In 2018, he refused the Russian secret service access to user data, whereupon the Kremlin had the service blocked. But just two years later, Telegram was accessible again in Russia, and the Russian military also uses the service. Durov is silent about the terms of the deal. But it would be surprising if he had not met Russia halfway by granting access rights. When German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser threatened to shut down Telegram in Germany in 2022, Durov finally handed over user data to her as well.

© ZEIT ONLINE

Newsletter

Naturally intelligent

Artificial intelligence is the most important technology of our time. But it is also a huge hype. Read our new AI newsletter to find out how to distinguish real breakthroughs from empty promises.

By registering, you accept the Privacy Policy
for information.

Thank you! We have sent you an email.

Check your mailbox and confirm your newsletter subscription.

It would be an ironic twist of history if the encryption of private chats were criminalized by a company whose services are not even as secure as they would have us believe. But above all, it would send a fatal signal. Restricting private communication is never a good idea in a democracy.

On Saturday evening, the French authorities arrested Pavel Durov, the head of the communications service Telegram. Durov promotes the messenger app as being particularly safe from surveillance, which is why opposition members in dictatorships organize on the one hand, but also extremists, drug dealers and pedophiles on the other. Whistleblower Edward Snowden calls Durov’s arrest an “attack on freedom of expression and freedom of association”. The Kremlin mocks the hypocrisy of the West.

In fact, some of the accusations made by the French judiciary are questionable. Nevertheless, Pavel Durov is not a hero of freedom of expression.