Durov spoke out against the introduction of backdoors in Telegram
Date: 2025-04-22 Author: Gabriel Deangelo Categories: BUSINESS
Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, sharply criticized the European authorities promoting bills aimed at creating so-called backdoors in end-to-end encryption systems. He is confident that such measures are not only useless, but also potentially dangerous for all users of messengers.
According to Durov, it is impossible to create a technical mechanism in which only the police will have access to the backdoor. He emphasized that after the introduction of such a function, not only law enforcement agencies, but also third parties - from hackers to representatives of hostile states - can gain access to confidential information. This threatens the security of everyone who uses messengers for personal and professional purposes.
He also noted that weakening the protection of popular platforms could have the opposite effect: criminals would simply switch to lesser-known and less regulated applications, thereby complicating the work of intelligence agencies.
He cited the situation in France as an example, where although the National Assembly rejected the Senate's proposal to introduce backdoors, the idea still received support from the Paris police prefect. Moreover, the European Commission has also shown interest in a similar initiative, which is causing serious concern among digital rights defenders.
Durov made it clear that Telegram would not sacrifice security for the sake of compliance with controversial requirements. He said that the company would rather leave the European market than violate users' right to privacy of correspondence. Unlike other companies, Telegram, according to him, does not trade privacy for the sake of growth and profit.
He also recalled that in the entire history of Telegram, which has already been in existence for 12 years, the messenger has never provided access to the contents of messages. Under current European law, the company can only disclose the phone numbers and IP addresses of people suspected of committing serious crimes, but not the text of their correspondence.
In conclusion, Durov emphasized that he intends to continue to protect the freedoms of users and prevent their right to privacy from being undermined, despite pressure from authorities in various countries.
A similar situation is developing in Sweden: at the beginning of the year, Signal CEO Meredith Whitaker already threatened to leave the country if a similar law is adopted.
