How Telegram became the world’s most controversial app

When Pavel Durov set about creating a brand new app in the early 2010s, his main aim was to build a platform that would protect users from oppressive regimes. Born in the Soviet Union in 1984 – the same year as George Orwell’s eponymous novel – Durov was acutely aware of how freedom of communication could be used to subvert authoritarian governments.

At 22, he had created VKontakte, or VK, which quickly became the most popular social media site in his home country and attracted the attention of authorities. Under pressure to shut down and expose opposition groups operating on the platform, Durov abandoned the company and fled Russia to set up something more resistant to government oversight.

The new app was Telegram, which has once again got Durov into trouble with authorities after he was arrested in France following an investigation into child sexual abuse, drug sales and other criminal activity on the platform. So how did such good intentions lead to such controversy?

With a similar layout and functionality to WhatsApp, Telegram added key privacy features like end-to-end encrypted ‘Secret Chats’ and self-destructing messages, allowing dissidents and protestors to communicate freely without fear of recriminations. But this has also attracted more sinister users.

In 2015, Telegram became the primary communications platform for the Islamic State (ISIS), allowing the terror group to coordinate activities through private messages, as well as spread propaganda and recruit members through large group chats. The group even set up tech support channels on Telegram to help members avoid surveillance.

As the so-called ISIS caliphate spread through Iraq and Syria, it gained notoriety for taking aid workers and journalists hostage and beheading them – videos of which were shared on their Telegram channels. It led to increased pressure on Telegram to shut down the groups and block ISIS members and sympathisers from using the app, but Durov remained defiant.

In a rare public interview in September 2015, the tech boss – who by now was living in self-imposed exile from Russia – refused to take action against ISIS. “I think that privacy, ultimately, and our right for privacy, is more important than our fear of bad things happening, like terrorism,” he said. “It’s a series of tragic events but ultimately ISIS will always find a way to communicate within themselves… I don’t think we should feel guilty about this. I still think we’re doing the right thing: protecting our users’ privacy.”

Two months later, ISIS terrorists killed 130 people in a series of attacks in Paris, prompting Durov to change his stance. Telegram shut down dozens of public channels linked to the group and implemented measures to monitor and prevent terrorist-related activity on the app.

The new approach did not prevent criminal activity on the app, and channels spreading far- right and extreme content were allowed to flourish amid a broader crackdown from the tech industry. Telegram has offered a platform to everyone from QAnon conspiracy theorists to Hamas, while it also became the go-to platform for organisers and participants of the recent riots in the UK.

The controversy surrounding the app has not stemmed its growth, with the latest figures from Durov, shared just weeks before his arrest, suggesting that it is close to reaching 1 billion monthly active users.

The vast majority of these users do not engage with – or even have access to – this criminal activity, and many continue to use it for the purpose it was intended. People in places like Russia and Iran are still able to bypass strict government censorship, with regimes unable to shut down the platform.

“This is clearly a fascinating case at the intersection of free speech and government oversight, " Seth Goertz, a former Assistant US Attorney with the Department of Justice, who dealt with Telegram during his time in office, tells The Independent.

“The rub here is that Telegram is truly a unicorn: it provides a hugely valuable means of communication for people living in surveillance states, but because of its commitment to encryption, it is very popular among criminal, and even terrorist, organisations.”

Following Durov’s arrest in Paris last Saturday, Telegram said Durov had “nothing to hide” and that the company “abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act”. The firm added that its moderation is “within industry standards”. Durov is expected to be either released or charged by French authorities on Wednesday.