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Uzone.id – The arrest of Pavel Durov, CEO of the popular Telegram application, in France succeeded in causing a stir in the tech world. In September 2024, he was arrested on 12 charges that prevented him from leaving the country.
Pavel Durov was arrested by the French OFMIN (Office for the Prevention of Violence Against Minors) team on charges of money laundering, drug trafficking, and the dissemination of child sexual abuse content on Telegram.
This arrest is part of an investigation into criminal activity on Telegram. However, Pavel Durov was later released after he paid €5 million, or the equivalent of US$5.56 million, as conditional bail.
As a result of this arrest, many speculations then emerged. Telegram firmly stated that its CEO is not hiding anything and that it does not make sense for Pavel Durov to be responsible.
Telegram vs TikTok
Seeing what happened with Telegram is similar to what happened to TikTok. These two platforms face criticism, restrictions, and blocks in various countries.
National security issues, government control over communications, and the abuse of platforms for various illegal activities continue to overshadow these two applications.
Telegram is criticized for its hard-to-monitor nature, while TikTok is in the spotlight because of concerns about privacy and its relationship with the Chinese government.
In America, TikTok is under prohibition due to a new bill passed in the country. The Americans banned the app as long as it did not break away from its parent company in China.
Telegram’s message exchange application does not have a problem with America. However, the Chinese government has implemented a complete blockade as part of strict internet control through the Great Firewall.
Why does the government often monitor telegrams?
Telegram is a communication platform with encryption features designed to maintain the privacy and security of its users. Strong end-to-end encryption makes Telegram an excellent choice for users concerned about data privacy.
However, this strict privacy makes Telegram difficult for the government to monitor, making it difficult to investigate when a crime occurs.
Telegram also often popularizes new features such as channels similar to newsletters, bots that can perform automated tasks, giving birth to various niche communities, and groups that can accommodate up to 200,000 members.
On the other hand, the channel feature also increases opportunities to disseminate inaccurate information to a broad audience, which can trigger social divisions and riots and threaten the country’s stability.
In addition, this application is often used by irresponsible individuals who make this platform a place for illegal transactions, such as the expansion of images of child sexual abuse, drug trafficking, and fraud.
Radical and terrorist groups often use Telegram to recruit new members, plan attacks, and spread propaganda.
Many illegal activities involve this application, requiring the government to supervise, prevent, and crack down on various forms of crime that violate applicable laws and regulations. This action is also carried out to protect the public from the harm posed by content that is unclear about the truth.
The state will cooperate with relevant platforms to achieve these goals and require them to remove illegal content. In fact, if the situation is serious enough, certain countries do not hesitate to block related platforms.
Countries that have blocked Telegram
China
Since July 2015, China has blocked Telegram after a DDoS attack. Before the ban, human rights lawyers had used the app to criticize the government as part of China’s broader internet censorship strategy.
Iran
In 2018, Telegram was banned in Iran following protests demanding economic reforms. The government alleged that Telegram had facilitated the riots. The Iranian government then encouraged citizens to use local apps to exchange messages. However, many citizens still access Telegram using a VPN.
In addition to China and Iran, several governments of other countries are also considering blocking Telegram due to the spread of disinformation and enabling extremism.
For example, in 2021, the British prime minister planned to crack down on the Telegram platform after the app was used to plan and coordinate anti-immigrant riots in the UK. However, for unknown reasons, they have not done anything to Telegram.
In March 2023, Telegram users could not use the application in Spain after a judge banned it due to distributing content without copyright permission. In the aftermath of this problem, the government planned to block the application but canceled it because the action was considered to cause losses to millions of users.
Writer: Aisyah Banowati
