Telegram CEO’s arrest smacks of empty posturing
The real question is: Do we want there to be spaces where people can genuinely evade surveillance, or do we think that the benefits aren’t worth the inevitable costs?
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THE arrest in France of Telegram founder and chief executive officer Pavel Durov has brought into sharp focus one of the major conflicts of our age. On one hand, we want privacy in our digital lives, which is why we like the kind of end-to-end encryption Telegram promises. On the other, we want the government to be able to stamp out repugnant online activities – such as child pornography or terrorist plotting.
The reality is that we cannot have our cake and eat it, too.
In August, Durov was charged with complicity in crimes taking place on the app, including distributing child pornography, drug trafficking and selling hacking software, as well as with refusing to cooperate with the French authorities’ investigations.
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