Pavel Durov's Arrest Leaves Telegram Hanging in the Balance

“Civil nine has had a analyzable narration with Telegram implicit the years,” says Natalia Kapriva, a lawyer astatine the integer rights radical Access Now. “We person defended Telegram against attempts by authoritarian regimes to artifact and coerce the level into providing encryption keys, but we person besides been raising alarms astir Telegram’s deficiency of quality rights policies, reliable transmission of communication, and remedy for its users.” Kapriva stresses that French authorities whitethorn effort to unit Durov to supply Telegram’s encryption keys to decrypt backstage messages, “which Russia has already tried to bash successful the past.”

The hashtag #FreePavel has been spreading online, including via X’s CEO, Elon Musk, who has posted galore times astir Durov’s arrest. “POV: It’s 2030 successful Europe and you’re being executed for liking a meme,” helium wrote connected Saturday nighttime successful effect to a station astir the Telegram CEO’s detention. “The request to support escaped code has ne'er been much urgent,” Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who connected Friday endorsed Donald Trump for US president, wrote connected X, wherever helium referred to Telegram arsenic “uncensored” and “encrypted.”

While Telegram is often described arsenic an encrypted messaging app, messages are not end-to-end encrypted by default, and elder executives antecedently told WIRED that they presumption the level arsenic a societal network. This is mostly owed to Channels—an one-to-many broadcast diagnostic that allows unlimited subscribers to presumption posts.

One of the posts that has gained the astir traction connected X was by right-wing erstwhile Fox News writer Tucker Carlson, who alluded to the oft-repeated but debatable story that Durov near Russia due to the fact that the authorities tried to instrumentality implicit his company. “But successful the end, it wasn’t Putin who arrested him for allowing the nationalist to workout escaped speech. It was a occidental country,” Carlson wrote successful a station that has truthful acold been viewed astatine slightest 5.7 cardinal times. Carlson besides linked to an hour-long interrogation helium did with Durov earlier this year, 1 of the archetypal and lone interviews the Telegram CEO has fixed successful caller years.

In Durov’s absence, Telegram’s aboriginal looks uncertain to some: “I americium successful shock, and everyone adjacent to Pavel feels the same,” says Georgy Lobushkin, erstwhile caput of PR astatine VK, a societal web Durov cofounded, who is inactive successful regular interaction with Durov. “Nobody was prepared for this situation.” Asked if helium disquieted astir Telegram’s aboriginal and who could tally the institution successful Durov’s absence, Lobushkin says: “[I] interest a lot.”

TF1Info, which archetypal broke the quality successful France of Durov’s arrest, reported that it was “beyond doubt” that Durov would stay successful custody during the investigation. “Pavel Durov volition extremity up successful pretrial detention, that's for sure,” 1 unnamed researcher told reporters.

“No 1 successful Telegram was prepared for specified a scenario,” says Anton Rozenberg, who worked with Durov from the aboriginal days of VK successful 2007, earlier moving for Telegram from 2016 to 2017. Rozenberg foresaw Durov acquiring the champion ineligible defence wealth could buy. “But without him, the messenger whitethorn person immense problems with management, each important decisions and adjacent payments,” helium added, fixed Durov’s idiosyncratic engagement successful moving the company. Rozenberg saw nary evident replacement for Durov, who makes cardinal decisions connected astir each matters astatine Telegram—financing, improvement strategies, merchandise design, monetization, and contented moderation policy.

For now, everything tin beryllium expected to proceed arsenic normal, says Elies Campo, who directed Telegram’s growth, business, and partnerships from 2015 to 2021. “Depending connected however agelong this is going to last, it’s similar a government, right? There’s this structure, there’s self-momentum.” Campo adds that the company’s unit is tiny enough—around 60 employees—that the infrastructure won’t beryllium affected.

The challenge, Campo concedes, would beryllium if Durov needs to beryllium physically contiguous to wage providers—something Rozenberg besides flagged.

“As acold arsenic I know, Pavel did the payments,” Campo says. “So what's going to hap erstwhile determination needs to beryllium immoderate payments for infrastructure providers, oregon providers successful presumption of connectivity—and he's inactive nether arrest?”