Durov accused the EU of creating a "surveillance mechanism" under the guise of age verification
Pavel Durov, the founder of the Telegram messaging app, has criticized the European Commission’s initiative to create an app for verifying the ages of internet users. In his view, this tool could turn into a mechanism for monitoring citizens.
Pavel Durov wrote about this on Telegram.
Durov stated that despite the stated goal of protecting minors, the system has serious vulnerabilities and could potentially be used for data collection.
He cited assessments by cybersecurity experts, including consultant Paul Moore, who noted that the app could be hacked in a matter of minutes.
According to Durov, the system allegedly contains vulnerabilities that allow bypassing security measures or gaining access to user data.
He described a possible scenario: first, a tool with claimed privacy protections is launched; then, vulnerabilities are discovered or exploits are allowed; and subsequently, controls are tightened and privacy levels are reduced under the pretext of “fixing problems.”
“Unless the EU is run by clowns, this is their actual plan: Step 1—present ‘respect for privacy,’ but with a hackable app; Step 2—get hacked (YOU’RE HERE); Step 3—remove privacy to ‘fix’ the app. The result is a surveillance tool marketed as ‘privacy-respecting,’ he said.
The European Commission’s initiative aims to create tools for verifying the age of online service users, specifically to restrict children’s access to inappropriate content.
At the same time, discussions regarding the balance between security and the right to privacy continue, and such projects often draw criticism from representatives of the tech industry.
As a reminder, users in Russia first reported that the Telegram messenger was partially circumventing Roskomnadzor’s restrictions. On the night of April 16, the service became accessible again without the use of additional tools for part of the audience.
In Russia, the popularity of Asian messaging apps has surged following restrictions on access to Telegram.
Recall that the Russian State Duma has complained about communication problems due to the blocking of Telegram.
Amid attempts to block hostile information resources in Russia, a massive service outage occurred again on April 6, affecting state services in particular.
A similar outage occurred in Russia on April 3; telecom experts directly linked it to the operation of equipment designed to block unwanted resources. Founder Pavel Durov stated that the Russian authorities’ attempts to restrict VPN operations led to a large-scale failure in the national payment system.
