Recently, the French National Assembly rejected a controversial telecommunications surveillance bill, avoiding becoming the first country in the world to require communication platforms to establish a "backdoor" for encryption.
In response, Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, voiced on his channel that this was a significant victory for user privacy and reiterated Telegram's absolute commitment to encryption protection.
The bill originally intended to force communication software to technically reserve a "backdoor" for law enforcement to bypass end-to-end encryption and access user conversations under specific circumstances. Supporters of the bill believed it would help counter-terrorism and fight crime, but privacy advocates and technology companies strongly opposed it, arguing that it would pose a universal risk to all users.
Ultimately, the French parliament voted to reject the bill, sparking widespread attention in the tech community.
Telegram founder Durov appreciated this and reiterated the platform's stance: "The existence of any encryption backdoor is a threat to the privacy of all users." He emphasized that no matter what legal pressure, Telegram will not compromise on user data protection.
"If a country requires us to weaken encryption mechanisms, we would rather exit the market than betray user privacy."
Telegram is popular for its strong encryption technology and its stance of not cooperating with government surveillance, especially in countries where speech is restricted or political situations are unstable, and is considered a reliable communication tool. Durov's latest statement not only reaffirmed the platform's position on privacy protection but also reignited the tug-of-war discussion between tech companies and government regulation.
Although the bill was not passed this time, it is still unknown whether France will propose similar proposals in the future. The balance between encrypted communication and public safety is expected to remain a focal point of contention between governments and technology companies.
This rejection undoubtedly won time for the encryption support camp and injected new momentum into the global discussion on digital privacy.
