Telegram founder Pavel Durov has accused France of driving an «authoritarian» EU plan to force messaging apps to scan private chats, warning it would turn every phone into a «spying tool.»
In a post shared on Telegram, Durov said users in France were notified about the proposed «Chat Control» law, which he claims would «nearly ban» Europeans’ right to privacy. He blamed French politicians, including Bruno Retailleau and Laurent Nuñez, along with President Macron’s Renaissance party, for backing the measure.
«Such laws claim to fight crime but target ordinary people,» Durov wrote. «Criminals could still hide behind VPNs, while officials’ messages remain exempt.»
He credited Germany with blocking the vote but warned that «freedoms are still threatened.»
Referencing an earlier French attempt to weaken encryption, Durov reiterated that Telegram would rather leave a market than add government backdoors.
«In its 12-year history, Telegram has never disclosed a single byte of private messages,» he said.
«The battle is far from over,» Durov concluded. «Every day, our freedoms come under attack — and every day, we must defend them.»
Kursiv also reports that Telegram has rolled out a major update on Durov’s 41st birthday.
