As Russia launches prison probe in opposition to Telegram CEO, the app's critics come to its defence

[ad_1] LISTEN | Full interview with Entry Now's Natalia Krapiva: As It Occurs 6:49 Digital rights advocates say Russia's Telegram clampdown is a violation of free speech

Pavel Durov, CEO of the messaging app Telegram, has dismissed Russia's prison investigation in opposition to him as a "unhappy spectacle of a state afraid of its personal individuals."

Durov, a Russian-born billionaire who resides within the United Arab Emirates, made the assertion on X whereas confirming Russian state media reviews that the nation's Federal Safety Service is investigating him for "aiding terrorism."

"Every day, the authorities fabricate new pretexts to limit Russians’ entry to Telegram as they search to suppress the appropriate to privateness and free speech," Durov wrote.

Entry Now — a Berlin-based digital rights non-profit that has been vocally crucial of Telegram's safety and privateness prior to now — says Durov is totally right.

"I are inclined to agree with Durov, and it is onerous to imagine that I am saying this," Natalia Krapiva, senior technical authorized counsel for Entry Now, informed As It Occurs host Nil Köksal.

"However on this case, Russia is unquestionably making an attempt to suppress freedom of expression and entry to info of their very own individuals."

It is not the primary time Durov has confronted prison investigations. In 2024, he was arrested in Paris over allegations that his platform was getting used for illicit exercise, together with drug trafficking and the distribution of kid sexual abuse pictures. He was later allowed to fly dwelling to Dubai as that investigation continues.

'A hazard to our nation' The transfer is simply the most recent escalation in Russia's ongoing efforts to clamp down on Telegram, which is broadly utilized by Russians — together with Russian troops combating in Ukraine.

Simply two weeks in the past, Russia's communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, introduced it was limiting entry to Telegram as a result of the corporate refuses to abide by Russian regulation.

<img loading="lazy" alt="A phone with the Telegram app opened up " srcset="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/fc9cf762-a90d-443b-8a83-0cdced8b6208,1772143353230/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C5094%2C3396%29%3BResize%3D796 796w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/fc9cf762-a90d-443b-8a83-0cdced8b6208,1772143353230/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C5094%2C3396%29%3BResize%3D1083 1083w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/fc9cf762-a90d-443b-8a83-0cdced8b6208,1772143353230/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C5094%2C3396%29%3BResize%3D1280 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 762px) calc(100vw - 32px),730px" src="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/fc9cf762-a90d-443b-8a83-0cdced8b6208,1772143353230/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C5094%2C3396%29%3B" style="aspect-ratio:1.5" data-cy="image-img"/> Russia says Telegram poses a safety risk. (Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Photographs) Russia hasn't formally confirmed the main points of its probe into Durov. However the official state newspaper, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, reported he's being investigated for alleged help to terrorist actions after the app was used as "a device for hybrid threats."

When requested in regards to the case, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov mentioned Tuesday that the Federal Safety Service had gathered info on a "giant variety of violations" by Telegram, in addition to content material that would "doubtlessly pose a hazard to our nation." He mentioned Telegram had been unwilling to co-operate with the authorities.

"Based mostly on this, the related companies are taking measures they deem acceptable," Peskov mentioned.

A part of a wider crackdown Telegram is not the one app Russia has focused. The federal government has restricted FaceTime, blocked messaging apps Sign, Viber and WhatsApp, and banned Fb and Instragram.

Whereas it cracks down on privately owned overseas platforms, it is pushing individuals towards the state-owned various, MAX, which it payments as a one-stop store for messaging, on-line authorities companies, making funds and extra.

"Russia, it seems to be like, has invested plenty of sources into selling this app. They've used celebrities. They've additionally put out messages saying: 'Effectively, this may be the one option to talk with authorities companies. You really want this,'" Krapiva mentioned.

<img loading="lazy" alt="People stare at their phones on a crowded subway " srcset="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/ef332b69-2289-4731-b9a7-9d531baa0d59,1772143555520/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C6487%2C4325%29%3BResize%3D796 796w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/ef332b69-2289-4731-b9a7-9d531baa0d59,1772143555520/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C6487%2C4325%29%3BResize%3D1083 1083w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/ef332b69-2289-4731-b9a7-9d531baa0d59,1772143555520/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C6487%2C4325%29%3BResize%3D1280 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 762px) calc(100vw - 32px),730px" src="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/ef332b69-2289-4731-b9a7-9d531baa0d59,1772143555520/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C6487%2C4325%29%3B" style="aspect-ratio:1.499884393063584" data-cy="image-img"/> Passengers take a look at their smartphones whereas on the subway in Moscow. (Alexander Zemlianichenk/The Related Press) However Krapiva warns MAX may very well be used as a device for surveillance by Russia, particularly if utilized by journalists or activists.

The platform brazenly declares it'll share consumer information with authorities upon request.

"So we positively advise individuals in opposition to utilizing," Krapiva mentioned. "Or, if they've to make use of it, ideally have it on a separate cellphone that they haven't any delicate info on, particularly if they seem to be a high-risk consumer."

An all-Russian web To date, Krapiva says, Russians do not appear desperate to make a whole swap.

She says Telegram use stays excessive within the nation, regardless of the government-imposed service disruptions, as individuals use companies like digital non-public networks (VPNs) to bypass the foundations.

"The statistics are a little bit bit tough to get, however our understanding and listening to from the Russian web digital rights specialists on the bottom is that, certainly, the utilization of VPNs has elevated dramatically in Russia," she mentioned.

It additionally helps, she says, that state instruments like MAX merely aren't on the identical degree of high quality as their non-public, foreign-owned counterparts.

However Russia is now cracking down on VPN companies, too, she mentioned, blocking content material that advertises them so Russians do not know they exist or find out how to discover them.

The last word aim, she says, is to pressure individuals right into a Russia-only on-line world, the place the federal government can totally management the circulation of knowledge.