French arrest of Telegram CEO fuels debate on surveillance & power Arrest tied to Ukraine conflict

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France and later released on his own recognizance as a trial against him commenced. This event is reportedly linked to the ongoing armed conflict in Ukraine.

According to some Russian military bloggers, Durov played a crucial role as the “chief of communications of the Russian Armed Forces,” as Telegram serves as the primary communication tool for Russian military personnel at the front. French intelligence services are eager to gain access to this communication system.

This situation is not solely about boosting the efficiency of the Ukrainian army in its challenging circumstances. The French intelligence services are keen on gaining control over the vast information flows managed through Telegram, which boasts around a billion users worldwide. However, the military factor seems to be a decisive element in this scenario.

Durov is reportedly facing six charges, including “administering an online platform to make illegal transactions.” Additional charges involve his refusal to provide authorities with required data, concealing crimes as part of an organized criminal group, distributing child pornography, drug trafficking, and other offenses. While it’s clear that Durov is not personally accused of distributing illicit materials, the implication is that Telegram might have been used for such activities. Durov allegedly refused to share information about the relevant users, chats, or encryption keys with the French intelligence services.

This situation can be compared to a car manufacturing corporation being accused of facilitating crimes simply because criminals used its vehicles, while the company refuses to hand over technical documentation or customer information to the police. Issues of trade secrecy or the right to refuse to testify seem to be ignored in this case. As a result, Durov faces serious charges that could lead to a significant sentence. However, it is speculated that the case might end in a deal with the investigation, as French security services are likely more interested in accessing the necessary information than imprisoning Durov.

André Gorz (Gerhard Hirsch), the late French scholar known for his scathing criticism of the Fifth Republic, argued that in modern societies governed by heteronomy — where individuals submit their will to externally imposed norms — ordinary people have little to no real power. Gorz posited that in regions controlled by the impersonal forces of the market and the lobbyists of large corporations, the choices available to the average person are essentially illusory unless one is a billionaire. Supporting a faction or party disconnected from your interests ultimately reduces you to a mere tool in their hands.

“The free choice of masters does not cancel out the opposition between masters and slaves,” echoed Gorz's friend, the philosopher Herbert Marcuse.

In such a world, one can be erased at any moment by the powerful systems of oligarchy and bureaucracy, especially when it involves a military conflict crucial to them or the control of information flows affecting billions. Words like freedom, equality, and fraternity lose their meaning in such contexts—they become nearly empty slogans. The world, as it stands, remains unchanged.

Even those among the overlords are at risk if their opposition to other factions becomes disadvantageous. Neither appeals to free speech and human rights, nor rhetoric defending communication free from governmental oversight, nor the ‘sacred right of private property,’ nor even the billions Durov possesses, have shielded him from repression. The oligarchic factions opposing him proved stronger than his connections and his lawyers.