Opinion

Pavel Durov built an app bigger than Elon Musk’s. Now it’s known as the dark web in your pocket

The arrest of the deeply private Russia tech titan has put the spotlight on illegal activity on Telegram, a preferred tool of the Irish far right. But Durov insists he is a defender of free speech

Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram. Photograph: Jim Wilson/The New York Times
Ciaran O'Connor
Sat Oct 05 2024 - 07:00

On November 23rd last year, hours after the tragic stabbing incident in Dublin city centre, users in a private group chat on the Telegram messaging platform discussed plans for that evening.

One voice note included the message, “Seven o’clock, be in town. Everyone bally up [wear balaclavas], tool up. And any f***ing g**o, foreigner, anyone, just kill them.” Telegram was a focal point for the incitement of hatred and instigation of violence that followed that night.

The same day, iStories, an independent Russian journalism website, published an investigation detailing how the leader of a political party in the country, Sergey Mironov, had secretly adopted and renamed a 10-month-old Ukrainian girl taken from the Kherson region while it was under Russian occupation.

The story, unsurprisingly not a subject of interest for state-run media, was shared by the newspaper on Telegram, one of the few remaining online platforms where Russians can access independent news coverage about their country.

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And therein lies the paradox of Telegram. Since its launch in 2013, it has risen to prominence as one of the most influential but controversial messaging platforms in the world. With its promotion of privacy, encrypted messaging and minimal oversight, it has garnered a user base of almost one billion users – more than Elon Musk’s X/Twitter – including many living in countries under repressive regimes where censorship and surveillance are the norm.

Telegram was founded by Pavel Durov, a deeply private billionaire Russian entrepreneur who previously developed VK, a platform modelled on Facebook. Durov sees himself as a defender of free speech. Following the Russian government’s takeover of VK, Durov left the country and launched Telegram. It is similar to WhatsApp in its messaging functions but it also hosts channels that allow up to 200,000 users, offers live broadcast capabilities and has limited content moderation policies.

Durov’s libertarian outlook has shaped Telegram’s design and ethos. He has long resisted government requests for data, including pressure from Russia to share user information, with this stance solidifying his image as a defender of free speech. The platform’s emphasis on user privacy was central to its appeal and it quickly attracted a wide range of users – including both those concerned about government repression and those seeking to operate outside legal boundaries.

But by the time of his arrest in France in July, in a case that has shaken the tech world, Telegram had become a platform where everything from political campaigning to illegal drug sales, extremist networks and the distribution of child pornography could take place with minimal interference, leading it to be dubbed “the dark web in your pocket”. Durov was placed under formal investigation for a range of alleged offences including complicity in the administration of an online platform to enable illicit transactions by an organised gang, refusal to communicate with authorities and complicity in organised criminal distribution of sexual images of children.

In Ireland, Telegram has been in use among far-right groups here since 2020. One of the earliest demonstrations of its use in this way came following the shooting of George Nkencho in December 2020. Within one hour of news of the incident, Irish far-right Telegram channels started sharing instructions on how best to capitalise on the incident by spreading disinformation and targeted hate to foment racial division.

Followers of these channels were instructed to avoid attending protests offline and instead “stay home, make memes and get trolling”. The suggestion here was that users should wade into debates about the shooting on platforms like X, create inflammatory and derogatory content about Nkencho and antagonise as many people as possible. False claims alleging Nkencho had “39 convictions” circulated and his family were threatened. Telegram has also been used by far-right groups to orchestrate homophobic hate campaigns against Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman and to promote conspiracy theories about Covid-19, Russia’s invasion and 5G, among many other topics.

Content espousing hate towards asylum seekers and migrants is standard on the platform. Calls for arson and fire emojis are frequently posted in response to news of a hotel coming onstream as an international protection accommodation service centre.

The platform has become a crucial node in the co-ordination of anti-immigrant protests around Ireland since late 2022. Just as it was central to events that followed the stabbing incident in November 2023, so too was it pivotal in being used to incite hatred and violence after a stabbing incident in Southport, England, in July 2024, as documented in our research at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue.

Now pressure is coming on Durov from the EU to regulate Telegram. In May, it was announced that Belgian authorities would be responsible for monitoring Telegram under the auspices of the newly-minted Digital Services Act. Telegram is based in Dubai but selected a Brussels-based company as its legal representative in the EU.

Pressure is mounting in the US too. In September, two people in California were charged with running a white supremacist group on the platform and encouraging followers to carry out acts of violence across the country in an attempt to ignite a race war.

In a major reversal of policy since Durov’s arrest, the platform has since announced it will co-operate with authorities to turn over information about users suspected of illegal activity.

Telegram’s commitment to privacy may have aligned broadly with legitimate concerns about protecting users and promoting free speech, but its reluctance to implement effective content moderation resulted in the platform evolving into a breeding ground for extremism, hate speech and illegal services.

Telegram is only one of many permissive online platforms that have enabled the spread of misinformation, harmful conspiracy theories and hate. The result is the mainstreaming of extremism – evident in many countries including Ireland. Enacting effective policy responses, enforcing regulations and safeguarding democracy and universal rights must be just the first steps in holding platforms accountable.

Ciaran O’Connor is a senior analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a non-profit that researches disinformation, hate and extremism online