Pavel Durov: Telegram Would Rather Leave the Market Than Undermine Encryption
Pavel Durov confirmed that Telegram has never disclosed user messages and does not intend to do so in the future. Responding to the discussion of a bill in France proposing mandatory backdoors in messengers, he stated that the company would rather leave the market than violate human rights to private correspondence.
According to Durov, the French Senate approved an initiative allowing police access to private messages to combat drug trafficking. However, the National Assembly rejected the bill. Had the law been enacted, France would have become the first country to officially strip its citizens of the right to encrypted communications.
Durov emphasized that it is technically impossible to create a backdoor usable solely by law enforcement. Any such mechanism would pose a security threat, as it could be exploited by foreign agents or hackers, leading to mass leaks of personal information.
Telegram, Durov stressed, has never disclosed user messages in its 12-year history. Under EU law, the messenger can only provide IP addresses and phone numbers of suspects to authorities, not message content.
Durov reiterated Telegram’s commitment to protecting privacy and refusal to compromise for commercial gain, contrasting it with the practices of some other major IT companies.
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