Telegram’s founder was arrested in August in France. Whereas the explanation given was his connection to legal exercise on the platform, Telegram’s actions in Web3 could possibly be the true trigger. Like in Fb’s Libra/Diem case, authorities will be delicate to non-public cash initiatives by massive social networks.
Pavel Durov, the founding father of Telegram, was arrested in France again in August. Baby pornography distribution and drug trafficking accusations painted an alarming public picture. The principle expenses have been reportedly associated to Durov’s refusal to cooperate with French authorities, nonetheless, Durov denied disregarding authorities’ requests.
🇫🇲 Baby abuse is a disturbing matter that causes grave concern and justifies authorities’ enforcement actions. At the moment, the EU is engaged on a brand new controversial proposal for generalized picture scanning, which mandates client-side scanning on encrypted messaging platforms to detect unlawful supplies however on the similar time places shoppers’ privateness in danger. Looking for baby pornography is the principle justification right here as properly.
All main messenger apps have, in some unspecified time in the future, confronted expenses associated to content material moderation, however this time, the federal government appears to be overreaching. Telegram was comparatively cooperative with the regulators in Germany, Brazil, and Russia in related instances (though defending customers’ common privateness and freedom of speech by refusing to share the cryptographic keys). The messenger reportedly glad nearly 7,000 authorized requests in India simply this 12 months. These contradictions have led to the looks of a number of theories about the true causes behind Durov’s arrest.
Whereas some imagine that Durov, the principle defender of on-line freedom of speech, is being persecuted by evil authorities looking for personal data and others are shouting about medication, terrorism, and prostitution, the reality may be someplace in between, within the delicate and significant foreign money sector.
On the whole, states worldwide are extraordinarily nervous about cryptocurrencies, which could each substitute fiat cash, reduce off their seigniorage revenues, and deprive governments of management over buying and selling and monetary relations.
When Durov first created The Open Community (at the moment Telegram Open Community) and its native coin, Gram, designed for use for on a regular basis funds throughout the messenger, the authorities firmly informed him to cease. After Gram’s profitable ICO, the U.S. SEC banned the coin in 2019, forcing Durov to return greater than $1.2 billion to buyers and to pay an $18.5 million civil penalty. The mission was formally deserted by Telegram and handed to the “neighborhood.”
In 2023 @Pockets bot was launched throughout the messenger, indicating that Telegram was again on the crypto scene. Though Durov claimed that TON and Telegram aren’t the identical because the choices from 2021, the businesses are working carefully on creating Telegram Web3 options. This 12 months, Telegram entered right into a partnership with Tether, the most important stablecoin, and regulators’ headache, permitting customers to ship USDT on TON throughout the app. Over the previous couple of months, trending mini-apps have attracted tens of millions of customers to the platform, making Telegram x TON one of many fastest-growing blockchain ecosystems and selling its native cost system.
Authority anxiousness may be the true purpose behind their feigned discontent. Some prompt that the arrest and the investigation have been orchestrated by U.S. intelligence, which pursues these associated to mixers and crypto-to-cash providers worldwide. Durov talked about earlier that the FBI was even making an attempt to recruit a Telegram worker.
Though unconfirmed, the allegation sounds solely doable, as this isn’t the primary time U.S. authorities have tried to forestall massive social networks from coming into the crypto house. It’s a related story to the Libra/Diem stablecoin cost system developed by Fb. The crypto mission by social media big was shut down in 2022 as a result of U.S. politicians and regulators’ strain and considerations.
🥷Russian pro-regime newspapers and consultants prompt that Durov’s arrest may be used to get Telegram’s encryption keys and entry secret navy data, thus turning the messenger, now the principle communication channel on the entrance, into “a NATO software.” From their standpoint, the entire operation targets the keys and personal information saved in Telegram.
Pavel Durov was shortly launched on bail and barred from leaving France for six months. Since then, the messenger has seen a number of practical adjustments, together with eradicating the Folks Close by characteristic and updating Telegram Search to handle questionable content material points.
On the similar time, the corporate unified its privateness coverage throughout totally different nations. Durov shared that in Europe, there was an uptick within the variety of legitimate authorized requests in Q3. Though he defined it by the truth that the authorities merely began to make use of the right procedures, this doesn’t appear to be a easy coincidence when put into the context of Durov’s arrest. Allegedly, the messenger founder greenlighted such requests.
Though no direct bulletins of any adjustments to the Telegram crypto initiative have been made, the adjustments affected @Pockets as properly. The app now additionally helps legislation enforcement proof assortment and lately utilized for UK registration as a CryptoAsset supplier “following an inside choice and company restructure plan.” For the time of the method, it restricted a number of options for the prevailing UK prospects. @Pockets can be rumored to be banned in France following the identical inside choice and plan.
Up to now, there isn’t any affirmation that the authorities managed to decelerate Durov’s crypto campaign, however the @Pockets-related compliance points may point out that the authorities’ strain has taken its toll.
