Gairika Mitra
Messaging app Telegram recently made a quiet and significant change to its privacy policy after a tense incident involving its founder, Pavel Durov, and French authorities.
Many believe that the policy change is linked to Durov’s recent four-day police interrogation in Paris regarding the platform’s alleged use of illegal activities.
Recently, Durov made an announcement on X noting that he is personally overseeing abusers of the platform who are invading the privacy of more than 950 million users.
“I’m still trying to understand what happened in France. But we hear the concerns. I made it my personal goal to prevent abusers of Telegram’s platform from interfering with the future of our 950+ million users,” he said.
Durov was unexpectedly detained and questioned by French authorities last month. He was charged for Telegram’s alleged failure to cooperate with law enforcement requests in France, especially concerning its use by criminals. The authorities claimed they were frustrated by the lack of responses from Telegram, despite it having an official representative within the European Union (EU).
The French officials also accused Durov of being responsible for illegal activities conducted by third parties on Telegram.
Following Durov’s arrest, it appears that Telegram conducted a stealth privacy policy update. The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section has been revised, and a specific statement was removed. The statement that was removed previously read, “All Telegram chats and group chats are private amongst their participants. We do not process any requests related to them,” and replaced with “All Telegram apps have had ‘Report’ buttons that let you flag illegal content for our moderators — in just a few taps.”
Source: Blockchain Daily
Durov’s name has been making its rounds online for his defiant attitude towards authoritarian regimes. In the past, he had publicly rejected the Russian government’s requests to censor anti-government figures.
The situation surrounding Telegram’s CEO has shaken the tech world. Following Durov’s arrest, Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski decided to leave Europe. Previously critical of France’s actions, Pavlovski stated that France had threatened Rumble and that Durov’s arrest, allegedly for not censoring speech, marks a dangerous escalation.
He added that Rumble will not be tolerant of this behavior as it’s disregarding freedom of expression, which is a universal right. The CEO also added that in previous instances Rumble had been targeted by countries like China, Russia, Brazil, the U.K., and New Zealand.
His latest cryptic post hinted that the video-sharing platform has encountered threats from different countries, highlighting a troubling trend against free speech.
It read:
“China bans Rumble
France threatens Rumble, we leave
Brazil threatens Rumble, we leave
UK threatens Rumble
Russia bans Rumble
New Zealand threatens Rumble
France arrests Telegram CEO
Free speech is under major assault and I will not stop fighting for it.”
Read More
- Telegram Responds After CEO Pavel Durov Detained in France
- The Durov Arrest: A Clash of Freedom, Security, and the Alleged Shadow of Israel
- Telegram CEO’s Legal Troubles Escalate as Indonesia Threatens Nationwide Telegram Ban
Gairika holds positions in BTC. This article is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The Shib Magazine and The Shib Daily are the official media and publications of the Shiba Inu cryptocurrency project. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial adviser before making any investment decisions.
