Recently brought to light by the arrest in France of its CEO, the Telegram application worries several governments because of certain practices and functionalities.
The case will probably not have escaped your notice: on August 24, Pavel Durov, the Russian boss of the Telegram application who became a French citizen, was arrested by the police when his plane landed at Le Bourget airport. While he was preparing to enjoy a dinner planned in Paris, the CEO of Telegram ended up spending nearly four days in police custody.
After several hours of uncertainty surrounding his arrest and detention, Pavel Durov was reportedly brought before an investigating judge with a view to being charged. The facts alleged against the Franco-Russian man are said to be linked to a lack of moderation towards Telegram.
What exactly is Telegram being criticized for?
The Telegram app has nearly a billion users worldwide. An impressive figure, but still quite far from some competitors like WhatsApp. Pavel Durov’s app also suffers from a lack of privacy compared to other solutions like Signal, since Telegram does not practice end-to-end encryption of conversations by default, as WhatsApp or Signal can do.
In addition to this lack of confidentiality, Telegram remains an application of choice for many abuses. Whether it is scams, pedophilia cases, or relays of conspiracy theories, the application is a privileged medium for many behaviors, often deemed illicit by the authorities.
In recent months, the platform has become a popular space for pro-Russian accounts, which flood various discussion channels to spread their information and recruit more members willing to defend the Kremlin’s interests.
Why does Telegram worry governments so much?
As we mentioned earlier, Telegram is not an app known for its privacy. However, its main competitors WhatsApp and Signal are owned by US-based parent companies. These companies are, therefore, quite easy to call into question in the event of moderation violations or legal investigations.
This is not the case for Telegram, which is headquartered in Dubai. Operating in the UAE is much more complicated for authorities, which gives the company’s members some immunity from government charges.
This is why France decided to act at the end of August, taking advantage of a short stopover by Pavel Durov in Paris. According to BFM, the French authorities arrested the CEO of Telegram for the application’s lack of cooperation with regard to content deemed illegal. Following this arrest, Pavel Durov’s company had notably assured that it would comply with the rights of the European Union.
Contrary to what many may think, a company based in Dubai does not depend on the laws where it is established, but must comply with the laws of the nations where it operates. The application must therefore be in compliance with the European regulation and in particular the DSA, voted a few months ago for its operations in Europe.