Last month, the French Senate nearly approved a bill that demanded messengers to implement "backdoors" for police access to messages protected by end-to-end encryption. This controversial decision was ultimately rejected by the National Assembly, marking a temporary victory for digital privacy advocates in France. However, three days ago, the Paris police prefect renewed calls for this initiative, as reported by Telegram founder Pavel Durov.
Durov welcomed the lawmakers’ decision to dismiss the "law that would have made France the first country in the world to strip its citizens of their right to privacy." He warned that any built-in "backdoors" for law enforcement could be exploited by other parties – from foreign agents to hackers – jeopardizing the private messages of all law-abiding citizens.
While supporters of the bill argued that it would aid in the fight against drug trafficking, Durov expressed skepticism regarding its effectiveness. "Even if major encrypted platforms were weakened, criminals would simply shift to dozens of lesser-known apps and protect their communications using VPNs," he explained.
According to Durov, Telegram, which has over 700 million users worldwide, has maintained a strict no-backdoor policy for 12 years. "We would prefer to exit the market than betray encryption and violate basic human rights," Durov emphasized, comparing Telegram’s approach to competitors who "trade privacy for market share."
In line with the EU Digital Services Act, he noted that Telegram complies with legitimate court orders by disclosing only IP addresses and phone numbers of suspects – but not the contents of their messages. "We have never handed over a single byte of private messages," Durov stated.
Despite the recent defeat of lawmakers in France, Durov cautioned that the fight for encryption is far from over. In March, the European Commission proposed a similar initiative for the introduction of "backdoors" in messengers throughout the European Union.
Although Durov positions Telegram as a messenger with end-to-end encryption, he has faced criticism for overstating its security. Notably, in 2021, Signal messenger founder Moxie Marlinspike claimed that even Facebook Messenger offers better privacy protection than Telegram, as end-to-end encryption (E2EE) is only activated in Telegram’s "secret chats" and is not enabled by default for all conversations.
