Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov warned that global censorship efforts could spell the end of the free internet as we know it unless countries actively squelch government creep.
In an X post Durov stressed the urgency of fighting for online free speech, which he described as slipping away. “Our generation is running out of time to save the free Internet built for us by our fathers,” he wrote. “What was once the promise of the free exchange of information is being turned into the ultimate tool of control.”
Durov continued, “Once-free countries are introducing dystopian measures.” He singled out countries such as Australia, the EU and the UK that are working to implement age restrictions, private message monitoring and digital IDs He also called out Germany, the UK and France for resorting to persecuting, imprisoning and criminally investigating citizens and tech leaders who dare to speak out against censorship.
In fact, Durov, who is from Russia, was arrested in France in 2024 and is facing up to ten years in prison after he refused to violate the privacy of users on his security-focused messaging and social media platform. Durov was detained and his travel was restricted when he refused to give French authorities information about Telegram users allegedly using the platform for drug trafficking and child sexual abuse materials.
He also said in an X post earlier this year that Nicolas Lerner, head of French intelligence, had approached him ahead of the Romanian elections and asked him to “ban conservative voices in Romania.”
Thus, his recent warning culminated with a bold assertion: “A dark, dystopian world is approaching fast — while we’re asleep. Our generation risks going down in history as the last one that had freedoms — and allowed them to be taken away.”
Durov added, “We’ve been fed a lie. We’ve been made to believe that the greatest fight of our generation is to destroy everything our forefathers left us: tradition, privacy, sovereignty, the free market, and free speech.”
Free speech is under attack! Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on hate speech and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
