Telegram has been crucial for anti-government protests, but also for the spread of criminal channels.
Telegram finds itself in a double bind with its CEO and co-founder, Pavel Durov, accused in France of allowing illegal content on the platform. What you decide to do next could go against the company’s core values and destroy its reputation.
The main positions in France are accusations that Telegram was complicit in store and distribute child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and facilitate drug traffickinghe organized fraud and others illegal transactions.
“Telegram as a company is in a dilemma,” Yevgeniy Golovchenko, associate professor in the department of Political Science at the University of Copenhagen, told ‘Euronews Next’. “On the one hand, they probably don’t want to have this kind of friction in this escalation that we are seeing right now, so they have some incentive to comply with French laws,” Golovchenko said.
“On the other hand, if they dothey signal to the world that they are willing to increase really moderation, and they would be going against the core of their product“.
Anti-government brand
Telegram It is marketed as a platform that does not moderate much or provide user data to the States, although it could do so, since end-to-end encryption is not a default settingmeaning that many users don’t know their data is saved unless they select encryption for each message.
Launched in 2013 by Durov and his brother Nikolai, Telegram began its journey as a messaging application that prioritized speed, security and a way of avoid government interference.
The idea came about after the Durov’s first social network, VKontakte (VK)the largest Russian social network, was pressured by the Russian authorities to hand over personal data to the Russian security services, the FSB. Among other things, they demanded that he block the deceased leader’s account. Russian opponent Alexei Navalny.
Durov left Russia, sold VK and founded Telegram, which as of July 2024 had more than 950 million monthly active users worldwide. Golovchenko added that the personal story of Durov to leave Russia and endure multiple bans around the world underlines this brand.
If Durov does not collaborate with French authorities to strengthen content moderation, it could “reinforce this (anti-government) brand for users,” he added.
Blatantly ignoring the regulations
Telegram already had a questionable reputation. The application has become a popular tool for organizing anti-government protestsas in Iran or Belarus, and a communication tool in the ukrainian war. But it has also been used by Russian military and propaganda groups, as well as criminal and extremist organizations around the world.
“I think (the arrest) has already had repercussions on Telegram’s reputation. For me, Telegram was never so virgin“William Echikson, of the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), told ‘Euronews Next’. “I have never met a company that so blatantly ignored regulators and I am not surprised that they ignored the law,” he added.
Despite the Russia’s attempts to ban Telegram in 2018public officials are now trying to say that the country should help Durov, which “could help the Russian propaganda narrative about the West being authoritarian and not having enough freedom,” Golovchenko said.
Given that Telegram has played a role on both sides of the war in Ukrainewhich has criticized the app over national security fears that it is not neutral or secure enough, which side the platform falls on for content moderation could further increase criticism of the app in Ukraine and praise. by Russia, or quite the opposite.
