Telegram CEO Pavel Durov's Arrest Upends Kremlin Military Communications

Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov was arrested Saturday night by French authorities on allegations that his social media platform was being used for child pornography, drug trafficking and organized crime. The move sparked debate over free speech worldwide from prominent anti-censorship figures including Elon Musk, Robert F. Kennedy. Jr. and Edward Snowden. However, 'the immediate freakout came from Russia,' reports Politico. 'That's because Telegram is widely used by the Russian military for battlefield communications thanks to problems with rolling out its own secure comms system. It's also the primary vehicle for pro-war military bloggers and media -- as well as millions of ordinary Russians.' From the report: 'They practically detained the head of communication of the Russian army,' Russian military blogger channel Povernutie na Z Voine said in a Telegram statement. The blog site Dva Mayora said that Russian specialists are working on an alternative to Telegram, but that the Russian army's Main Communications Directorate has 'not shown any real interest' in getting such a system to Russian troops. The site said Durov's arrest may actually speed up the development of an independent comms system. Alarmed Russian policymakers are calling for Durov's release.

'[Durov's] arrest may have political grounds and be a tool for gaining access to the personal information of Telegram users,' the Deputy Speaker of the Russian Duma Vladislav Davankov said in a Telegram statement. 'This cannot be allowed. If the French authorities refuse to release Pavel Durov from custody, I propose making every effort to move him to the UAE or the Russian Federation. With his consent, of course.' Their worry is that Durov may hand over encryption keys to the French authorities, allowing access to the platform and any communications that users thought was encrypted.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that the arrest of Durov was 'in no way a political decision.' The Russian embassy has demanded that it get access to Durov, but the Kremlin has so far not issued a statement on the arrest. 'Before saying anything, we should wait for the situation to become clearer,' said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. However, officials and law enforcement agencies were instructed to clear all their communication from Telegram, the pro-Kremlin channel Baza reported. 'Everyone who is used to using the platform for sensitive conversations/conversations should delete those conversations right now and not do it again,' Kremlin propagandist Margarita Simonyan said in a Telegram post. 'Durov has been shut down to get the keys. And he's going to give them.'

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