This has been known since late 2010s
The same way signal is affiliated with NSA... . nobody can prove but common sense analysis and how the product is structured clearly indicates that there if local feds wanted the data, they can get it.
this post was submitted on 16 Jun 2025
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If you (or anybody) can demonstrate the NSA is capable of reading communications between two Signal users, that would be a huge deal. Telegram, meanwhile, works hard to make sure people feel as uncomfortable using (E2E) encryption as possible
*meta data
Click bait. The report is really grasping at straws. It's like saying any company that uses AWS servers is linked to the Israel government.
Well, let's extend that metaphor. It would work better if the company CEO was
- An expatriate from Israel
- Marketing his service to Palestinians for free speech
- Using AWS servers hosted in Israel when there were plentiful other options
Perhaps then it would demand closer scrutiny, no?
- Has secretly visited Israel multiple times despite claiming otherwise, with one of the trips followed by Israel unblocking the app.
Sorry to double reply, but I realize I buried the more damning stuff.
Durov himself says:
[Unblocking Telegram] could have a positive impact on innovative development and national security of the country.
National security?! What kind of language is that?
And
"I travel to places I am sure are in line with our values and what we do. I don't visit major geopolitical powers or other countries - like China, Russia, or even the United States," Durov explained his personal security principles in an interview with Carlson.
So he was just lying then.
Unless there's some egregious translation error in this story, this is all damning stuff. It's not unannounced, it's definitively deceptive. You don't want the man who promises to keep your data safe to be a known liar.
The Carlson interview was conducted in English, which Durov spoke pretty fluently.
Maybe I'm just uncreative, but I can't think of a single explanation for this without raising more questions in the process.
An explanation for the trips: "he was just trying to negotiate keeping Telegram in Russia"
The new questions:
- If he knows Russia is going to crack down on free speech, why would he want to store easily accessible private message data there?
- What would he need to give up to appease Putin - or did he just succeed without making any concessions?