Telegram’s CEO slams Spain’s new age-verification law

Pavel Durov, a French-Emirati citizen and CEO of Telegram, criticized the Spanish government’s planned crackdown on social media, which includes introducing mandatory age checks for users and setting a minimum age of 16 for access to social media, as seen in recent Australian legislation.

In a statement dated Wednesday, February 4, Durov argued that this law would lead to greater state control over online information, pose risks to user privacy, and support large-scale surveillance efforts.

Durov said the policy measures by Sánchez’s government could “turn Spain into a surveillance state under the guise of ‘protection.’” The Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, announced at the World Government Summit in Dubai that his government plans to permanently ban children under 16 from accessing social media platforms, requiring platforms to implement effective age-verification systems.

This development follows Durov’s argument that France is not a free country. He claims it is the only nation “criminally persecuting all social networks that give people some degree of freedom.” Following reports that French police are raiding the Paris offices of social media platform X, Durov said on X: “Don’t be mistaken: this is not a free country.”

Telegram CEO expresses disapproval of the government’s online age verification plan

Durov still insisted on how the government’s plan for online age verification would significantly harm users. He expanded that, “Pedro Sánchez’s government is pushing harmful new rules that endanger your internet freedoms. These measures were announced just yesterday and could turn Spain into a surveillance state under the excuse of protection.”

Regarding the government’s decision on Telegram, sources noted that Pedro Sánchez, the Prime Minister of Spain, argued that it is important for the nation to implement online age verification measures, adopting a similar approach to other European countries, such as the United Kingdom.

Moreover, Sánchez stressed that social media platforms now resemble a “failed state” in which laws are ignored and harmful content spreads during the World Government Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Therefore, based on his argument, they must restore control to truly safeguard their children.

Immediately after the Prime Minister made these remarks public, privacy advocates and cypherpunks raised heightened concerns about his argument, noting that such policies restrict free speech and grant governments greater power to censor content for political reasons. 

At this moment, an individual with the username Campari weighed in on the matter, stating, “You want to control people who reveal corruption in your government.” Meanwhile, as the situation intensified, tech billionaire Elon Musk also attacked Sánchez, mocking him in his reply.

Additionally, Taylor Lorenz, an American journalist and technology columnist who covers Internet culture, noted that she is certain none of these government efforts is centered on protecting children. Hence, the journalist encouraged global opposition to online age verification laws.

On the other hand, individuals such as the CEO of the layer-1 blockchain Concordium, Boris Bohrer-Bilowitzki, expressed the belief that while it is crucial to implement safeguards against harmful content, particularly for minors, the current age-verification methods are ineffective.

Bohrer-Bilowitzki stresses the key role of blockchain technology on social media platforms 

Concerning the age verification approach, Bohrer-Bilowitzki argued that such measures force users to look for ways to bypass restrictions by using virtual private networks (VPNs), which hide their IP addresses and data by routing their device’s internet traffic via a secure, encrypted “tunnel” to a private server.

Therefore, to avoid a similar incident, the CEO proposed that the government consider using blockchain technology to securely verify identities while maintaining user privacy.

In the meantime, Sánchez affirmed that they will start implementing the suggested laws on social media platforms next week. He further mentioned that the online age verification plan is part of a broader effort to mitigate disinformation across various social media platforms from algorithmic manipulation and amplification. To demonstrate the seriousness of the situation, the prime minister declared an investigation into Musk’s Grok, Instagram, and TikTok. 

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