Russian Billionaire and Founder of Telegram Arrested at Paris Airport

8 comments

1. He has a French passport so he’s a French-Russian Billionaire.

2. Russians alleging the French of authoritarianism.

   Okay!

3. KGB agent arrested in Paris.

4. What did he do?

5. With how much of a resource Telegram is for open source intelligence, I wonder how western foreign and military intelligence will gather information without compromising HUMINT and SIGINT.

6. Durov was in Azerbaijan at the same time putin was. What a coincidence?

7. One thing people don’t realise is my country France is becoming a world leader in destroying digital privacy.

   We’ve had laws (some are still proposals, others have passed already) that even the Chinese with the Great Firewall don’t do.

   For instance, you get a 270 000€ fine and 3 years in prison for refusing to unlock your phone to the Police, regardless of whether you’re innocent and have nothing to hide.

   France also wants to ban encryption in communication, and has been pushing hard for this in the EU. We’ve also supported chat control (scanning of digital communications and storage, as always “for the children”).

   In France also, platforms are being held responsible for the content they host, and refusing to cooperate, even if they physically *can’t* (because the data is encrypted, and they don’t have access at all). This has legit reasons, as Telegram is known to host many illegal activities, but it’s also a way to crackdown on legit encrypted services.

   We’re going down a dark path here, all in the name of national secrurity. We like to make fun of the US, and claim we’re better than them, but we’re making the exact same (if not worse in some ways) invasive policies that reduce digital privacy.

   I fear for encrypted services with a good reputation, who comply with laws, like Signal and ProtonMail in France. When they go after them, that’s when things will have gone too far. ProtonMail has always complied with the authorities (as they should), but compliance seems like it won’t be enough very soon. Encryption and privacy in of itself don’t please the government.

8. „Free speech“ doesn’t mean spreading lies & supporting crime. Just saying.
   ☝🏻😎✨