Earlier this week, when French police held Telegram chief executive officer Pavel Durov—alleging the app’s lack of content moderation enabled its misuse for narcotics trafficking, money laundering, and the sharing of child pornography—they set the stage for a critical battle in the long-simmering feud between technology companies and global law enforcement. https://theprint.in/opinion/security-code/telegram-ceo-arrest-set-the-stage-for-a-law-vs-tech-battle-will-shape-norms-across-the-world/2240208/
Across the world, though, organised crime cartels are continuing to use free, easily available tech tools, and the patience of some governments is starting to run out. Telegram’s encryption isn’t highly regarded, but its loose content moderation policies and openness to large chat groups have led Russian dissidents, American neo-Nazis, French anarchists, and Islamic State jihadists to turn to it to send out their messages.
Facebook, WhatsApp, and other platforms, by contrast, have begun aggressively shutting down accounts and restricting the ease of broadcasting messages in response to mounting concerns over disinformation. Telegram, though, chose to buck the pressure.
Living in a new online age, the world needs to seriously debate the ethics and norms that ought to guide it. The debate is too serious to be left to government and law enforcement alone.
by Praveen Swami
27/08/2024