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>French security officials had already warned the Macron camp about their Telegram use. "They told us we were being watched, that we were at risk of hacking and

>French security officials had already warned the Macron camp about their Telegram use. "They told us we were being watched, that we were at risk of hacking and that we had to be careful with Telegram, which is a Russian app," a Macron adviser was quoted as saying by newspaper Libération. I think this is what's missing from most convos re this. Commenters focus on whether platforms have responsibility for user content or the encryption vs surveillance debate way too much, ignoring the fact that Durov is a Russian tech oligarch that was allowed to sell his vk userbase to an authoritarian state and is neither in a Siberian labor colony or having a taste of novichok/plutonium poisoning. It's only prudent to suspect that he is as free-speech-loving, unbiased and not working for an authoritarian dictatorship as his platform's defaults are private and secure.

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chipdart 2y ago
> (...) ignoring the fact that Durov is a Russian tech oligarch that was allowed to sell his vk userbase to an authoritarian state and is neither in a Siberian labor colony or having a taste of novichok/plutonium poisoning. Adding to that, note the outrage expressed by high-level Russian officials regarding Durov's arrest. Not only are they ok with a private business running a supposedly confidential messaging service within Russia, they also go to bat for him to try to protect it. This, in a regime so hostile to free speech and personal liberty such as Russia.
- 331c8c71 2y ago
  Nah. They jumped on a rare opportunity to present themselves as the proponents of the free speech. And surely there is an ulterior motive to gain more control over Durov and Telegram. Telegram's premier feature are channels and there are multitude of popular ones deeply critical of the Putin's regime (and there are a lot of pro-government or state-controlled ones). Telegram is de facto the biggest (meta) source with at least a modicum of free speech in Russia.
ThePowerOfFuet 2y ago
>his platform's defaults are private and secure You can't be serious.
- pickledoyster 2y ago
  To clarify: what I meant was that Durov is as untrustworthy as Telegram's marketing is deceptive. i.e., the defaults are not private and secure, therefore it's prudent to suspect that his claims are false re free speech, being unbiased or not working for/with Russia. Hope this clears it up.

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chipdart 2y ago

> (...) ignoring the fact that Durov is a Russian tech oligarch that was allowed to sell his vk userbase to an authoritarian state and is neither in a Siberian labor colony or having a taste of novichok/plutonium poisoning. Adding to that, note the outrage expressed by high-level Russian officials regarding Durov's arrest. Not only are they ok with a private business running a supposedly confidential messaging service within Russia, they also go to bat for him to try to protect it. This, in a regime so hostile to free speech and personal liberty such as Russia.

331c8c71 2y ago
Nah. They jumped on a rare opportunity to present themselves as the proponents of the free speech. And surely there is an ulterior motive to gain more control over Durov and Telegram. Telegram's premier feature are channels and there are multitude of popular ones deeply critical of the Putin's regime (and there are a lot of pro-government or state-controlled ones). Telegram is de facto the biggest (meta) source with at least a modicum of free speech in Russia.

ThePowerOfFuet 2y ago

>his platform's defaults are private and secure You can't be serious.

pickledoyster 2y ago
To clarify: what I meant was that Durov is as untrustworthy as Telegram's marketing is deceptive. i.e., the defaults are not private and secure, therefore it's prudent to suspect that his claims are false re free speech, being unbiased or not working for/with Russia. Hope this clears it up.