Durov (Telegram) accuses EU of using child protection to control political discourse

Pavel Durov, the founder of the messaging app Telegram, has accused the European Union and several Western countries of exploiting child protection concerns to control political speech and curb the influence of major platforms. Durov expressed his dismay that tactics previously used by authoritarian regimes in Russia, China, and Iran are now being adopted in some Western nations.

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What bothers me most today is that some of the tricks that have been used by authoritarian regimes in places like Russia, China, or Iran, are now being used in some Western countries.

During his address at the Oslo Freedom Forum, Durov highlighted instances where individuals in countries like Germany and the United Kingdom face arrest and prosecution for expressing "politically incorrect" views or criticizing politicians on social media. He drew a parallel to Russia's past demands for user data, which led to Telegram's prohibition there, yet noted that a significant majority of Russian youth continue to use the platform via VPNs.

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thousands of people are arrested and prosecuted every year in Germany or the United Kingdom for politically incorrect comments on social media or for insulting politicians.

Durov cautioned that compelling young people to use VPNs could inadvertently expose them to a wider range of harmful and illegal content, potentially placing them in greater danger. He argued that the justification of protecting children, while emotionally resonant, is being used by the European Commission to push for extensive surveillance laws, such as the proposed "chat control" measures.

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The problem is that, once we force teenagers and children to use VPNs, all sorts of unpleasant and illegal content becomes unlocked for them (...), so they end up being in greater danger than they are now.

The Telegram founder, who also founded the Russian social network VK, warned that the future could become bleaker than the Soviet Union of the 1980s if Western nations allow their freedoms to erode. The Oslo Freedom Forum, organized annually by the Human Rights Foundation, serves as a platform for discussions on human rights and political freedom.

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The same justification is being used by the European Commission (EC) to push for a set of surveillance laws, the so-called chat control, for the past five years.