“The cost is not done to protect criminals.” In a message to his community, Pavel Durov, Chief of Telegram, defends the position of his business against the establishment of stolen doors, claimed in particular by Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau. An addition that will damage the confidentiality of the encrypted messaging, which is contrary to the principles of Telegram, assures its boss.
“Telegram prefers to leave a market instead of undermining encryption with stolen doors and violating basic human rights,” writes Pavel Durov.
This statement comes in reaction To Laurent Nuñez’s words in BFMTV-RMC. On Friday, April 18, the Paris Police Prefect demanded hidden access to telegram, calling the “privileged communication mode” of drug traffickers. Today, the application agrees to provide the IP addresses and telephone numbers of its users to the authorities. However, she refuses to reveal the messages.
A JAR Gate
A stolen door would allow police services to open access to a specific conversation without being seen. The objective is that the police understand the actions better or even identify criminals infiltrating their conversations.
But according to Pavel Durov, creating such a violation would weaken the entire application. Lambda users could also be attacked.
The boss also argues that the establishment of a stolen door does not guarantee better access to drug traffickers conversations. “Criminals can always communicate safely through less known applications and will be more difficult to track due to VPN,” writes Pavel Durov.
A question that agitates parliaments
Cost emails are in the viewfinder of certain policies. Within the framework of the drug trafficking law in March 2025, an amendment provided for the introduction of robbed doors in WhatsApp messaging, signal or telegram. This amendment was finally rejected by the National Assembly.
On a broader scale, the European Commission also presented similar measures on April 1, 2025. In the presentation of an action plan on security, we learn that the European Union seeks to establish “a technological road map on encryption.” Therefore, it wants to “identify and evaluate technological solutions that allow repressive authorities to legally access data in 2026”.
Source: BFM TV
