Telegram’s founder, Pavel Durov, has finally spoken out after being arrested in France last month. This is the first time Durov has addressed the public since the incident.
In a statement on his Telegram Channel, Durov said he was shocked by his arrest, considering the fact that Telegram has a legal representative in the European Union who handles regulatory requests.
He noted that the French authorities had various ways to contact him without resorting to law enforcement. As a French citizen who frequently visits the French Consulate in Dubai where he lives, Durov found the arrest a bit puzzling.
He also mentioned that he had helped French officials in the past to set up a hotline with Telegram to address terrorism concerns, which makes the situation seem even more unexpected.
Durov said that Telegram has a strong commitment to protecting its users’ privacy and upholding free speech. He said that these principles are the foundation of the platform and that Telegram has always been willing to leave markets where governments demand compromises.
We are prepared to leave markets that aren’t compatible with our principles because we are not doing this for money. We are driven by the intention to bring good and defend the basic rights of people, particularly in places where these rights are violated.
He cited previous instances, like when Russia banned Telegram for refusing to hand over encryption keys and a similar ban in Iran for not blocking protest channels.
Despite this, Durov said that the platform is always open to working with regulators to find the right balance. However, in situations where an agreement can’t be reached, Telegram is ready to leave markets that demand a compromise on user privacy.
Sometimes we can’t agree with a country’s regulator on the right balance between privacy and security. In those cases, we are ready to leave that country. We’ve done it many times.
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