Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has expressed concerns over the growing threat to private messaging in France and other European Union countries, warning that Telegram would rather exit certain markets than implement encryption backdoors that undermine user privacy.
In an April 21 post to his “Du Rove’s channel” on Telegram, he posted an alarming message about the EU’s increasing efforts to weaken messaging encryption by adding backdoors, a method that would allow authorities to bypass encryption and access private user data.
Durov cited initiatives from French and EU lawmakers to require messaging apps like Telegram to implement backdoors for police access and stressed Telegram’s commitment to digital privacy.
“Telegram would rather exit a market than undermine encryption with backdoors and violate basic human rights,” Durov stated, adding: “Unlike some of our competitors, we don’t trade privacy for market share.”
Backdoors can be exploited by criminals
In his message, Durov highlighted that the biggest problem behind encryption backdoors lies in their accessibility not only to authorities but also to hackers and foreign agents.
“It’s technically impossible to guarantee that only the police can access a backdoor,” Durov said, adding that backdoors would put users’ private messages at risk of being compromised.
He added that criminals would likely turn to lesser-known apps and use virtual private networks (VPNs) to avoid detection, rendering such regulations ineffective.
Telegram “never disclosed a single byte” of private messages
Durov said that while Telegram complies with valid court orders in some jurisdictions, such as disclosing IP addresses and phone numbers found to be involved in criminal activity, it has never exposed any private messages:
“In its 12-year history, Telegram has never disclosed a single byte of private messages. In accordance with the EU Digital Services Act, if provided with a valid court order, Telegram would only disclose the IP addresses and phone numbers of criminal suspects — not messages.”
He urged privacy advocates to keep communicating with lawmakers and promote encryption as a protection tool of privacy and safety for ordinary people, rather than see it as a criminal tool. “Losing that protection would be tragic,” Durov said.
“The battle is far from over”
Although the French National Assembly rejected a proposal to allow hidden access to private messages in March, the EU’s war on digital privacy is far from over, Durov said.
Durov cited the European Commission’s “ProtectEU” proposal from early April. The proposal aims to find “technological solutions to enable lawful access to data by law enforcement authorities in 2026.”
The proposal has been heavily criticized by digital privacy advocates and some European lawmakers, with Finnish MEP Aura Salla suggesting that introducing encryption backdoors “fundamentally undermines the very cybersecurity principles ProtectEU aims to uphold.”
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“No country is immune to the slow erosion of freedoms. Every day, those freedoms come under attack — and every day, we must defend them,” Durov concluded.
Durov’s warning about threats to privacy and freedom in the EU comes amid an ongoing legal case in France against the Telegram CEO centered around allegations of facilitating a platform that enables illicit transactions.
According to French prosecutors, Durov faces up to 10 years of prison time in addition to a $550,000 fine if convicted.
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