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If anyone embodies both the miracle and the disease of the digital age, it is probably Pavel Durov, the Russian-born founder of the Telegram messaging app who was detained in Paris on Saturday. To his supporters, Durov is a hero for creating a safe space for free speech. To his detractors, he is a villain who facilitates criminal activity. In fact, he may be both.
Before rushing to judgment, it’s worth considering Durov’s personal history. When I interviewed him in 2015, two years after Telegram launched, Durov spoke of his family’s tragic past. Under Stalin, several members of his family from Kiev and St. Petersburg were persecuted, exiled to Siberia, or shot. Durov didn’t distinguish between Hitler, who oppressed minorities, and Stalin, who oppressed social classes. He said he hated both equally, which put him at odds with the increasingly nationalistic regime of President Vladimir Putin.
VKontakte, a popular Facebook-like social networking service that Durov created with his brother, hosted groups opposing the Kremlin. But in 2014, he sold the company to Kremlin-linked investors and was forced to flee the country. He considered himself lucky to escape the fate of his predecessors, walking away with $300 million. With the money, he developed Telegram with the clear goal of avoiding big government intrusion and providing “social benefits.”
To that end, Telegram was originally designed as a decentralized data server network and a nomadic enterprise, but is now headquartered in Dubai. Durov promised to protect all private communications and boasted that no user data would be handed over to any government. “I see myself as a technology entrepreneur, not a politician or a philosopher. I want to see libertarian values spread, but I don’t see it as my mission,” he told me at the time.
Nine years later, Telegram has become a phenomenal success story, used by over 900 million people who love its simple, frictionless, and seemingly secure service. There was even talk of the company going public in a blockbuster IPO. Telegram combines messaging and social networking, allowing users to communicate with up to 200,000 people at a time. It has been the service of choice for protest movements in Russia, Belarus, Iran, Myanmar, and Hong Kong. It has provided a welcome political oxygen to suffocating activists.
Surprisingly, Telegram is the preferred platform for Ukrainian and Russian nationalists to wage their propaganda war, hosting vivid images of the conflict. Ironically, Telegram has found favor with French politicians, especially President Emmanuel Macron, who see the service as a welcome alternative to the dominant Silicon Valley giants. Durov has even been granted French citizenship.
However, civil society organizations and law enforcement agencies are increasingly concerned about the nefarious uses of Telegram, claiming that it has become the new “dark web.” In particular,French judicial authorities are investigating the platform. Allegedly distributing child sexual abuse material and facilitating a criminal network. Telegram has categorically denied the allegations. “It is absurd to suggest that the platform or its owners are responsible for the abuse of their platform,” the company said.
By doing so, Telegram appears to be failing to distinguish between the threatening demands of a dictatorship in a democratic country and the legitimate requests of law enforcement agencies. It also fails to adequately explain the mysterious bans and unbans by Russian authorities and their subsequent popularity among Kremlin officials. The service is less secure than it appears. Telegram does not provide end-to-end encryption for all messages by default, like WhatsApp and Signal. It would be in the interest of both the company and its users to correct their behavior.
The somewhat childish position of liberal absolutists is that there should be no restrictions on freedom of speech. But a free society is not just about freedom of expression. It also revolves around obedience to the law and the protection of other precious human rights. Democracy can be messy, but it is the best mechanism we know for judging these freedoms and rights.
Paris prosecutors have now formally investigated Durov. France has laws that criminalize the distribution of child sexual abuse material and the promotion of criminal activity. It is up to the French judiciary to determine whether Telegram has violated these laws.
John Thornhill@ft.com
