Telegram is a very popular chat app that is used by Russians and Ukrainians to stay connected across the border. With the ongoing invasion, Telegram is in a difficult situation. This is because Russia is known to use its security agencies like FSB to squeeze information, chats and private details of targeted citizens from tech companies. During any crisis, especially a war, people usually tend to share information about ground realities to their loved ones just to protect them.
Now, given this background, there’s always this fear that Russia may look into chats of Ukrainians in an attempt to score vital ground intel. Now, another concern here is that Telegram is not end-to-end encrypted. So, the chances of Russian authorities snooping through chats becomes higher.
But right now, there’s very little that users can actually do apart from trusting Telegram and founder Pavel Durov and hoping that he would not share user data with the Russians. Well, the good news is that Durov has finally spoken on this issue. While he is promising to “stand for our users no matter what”, he is not talking about how his unencrypted platform will prevent Russian intrusion or neither is he promising to take any concrete steps or introduce tech features in Telegram to protect users.
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Here’s what Telegram founder Pavel Durov has to say about protecting user privacy during the Russia-Ukraine war
If you follow my posts, you know that on my Mom’s side, I trace my family line from Kyiv. Her maiden name is Ukrainian (Ivanenko), and to this day we have many relatives living in Ukraine. That’s why this tragic conflict is personal both to me and Telegram.
Some people wondered if Telegram is somehow less secure for Ukrainians, because I once lived in Russia. Let me tell these people how my career in Russia ended.
Nine years ago I was the CEO of VK, which was the largest social network in Russia and Ukraine. In 2013, the Russian security agency, FSB, demanded that I provide them the private data of the Ukrainian users of VK who were protesting against a pro-Russian President.
I refused to comply with these demands, because it would have meant a betrayal of our Ukrainian users. After that, I was fired from the company I founded and was forced to leave Russia.
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I lost my company and my home, but would do it again – without hesitation. I smile with pride when I read my VK post from April 2014, which shows the scanned orders from the FSB and my trademark response to them – a dog in a hoodie.
When I was refusing these demands, the stakes were high for me personally. I was still living in Russia, and my team and my old company were also based in that country.
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Many years have passed since then. Many things changed: I no longer live in Russia, no longer have any companies or employees there. But one thing remains the same – I stand for our users no matter what. Their right to privacy is sacred. Now – more than ever.
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