Can you trust Telegram? | Security, privacy, censorship analysis

Original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8ZXDiQLH9I
Author: https://www.youtube.com/@TheHatedOne
Date: Sep 12, 2024

Description:
Telegram says they a private and encrypted neutral platform - but is that true?
https://www.patreon.com/thehatedone

Telegram is a messaging app with one billion users and currently the only platform whose CEO got arrested. This is Pavel Durov, the founder and chief executive officer of Telegram. He currently cannot leave France and has to report to a police station twice a week. His crime? Failing to respond to judicial requests to identify a suspect of an active investigation.

This is big. Arresting a tech exec is something that never happens, no matter the reason. Durov is a Russian citizen and his Telegram has been used by dissidents around the world in pro-democracy protests. Telegram has always marketed itself as a pro-free speech and anti-censorship platform. It’s a self-proclaimed encrypted and secure messaging app. But can we honestly trust these claims? Is Telegram a genuinely secure platform for anyone to communicate safely? Or is this just another billionaire oligarch venture playing the long game where monetizing the customer is the end goal?

I want to evaluate Telegram on seven merits that should determine whether we should or shouldn’t trust it. These seven points will assess Telegram on safety, the personality of Pavel Durov, its business model, collusion with government, who it’s used by, applied security and technology. Based on my investigation and analysis, I am going give Telegram a plus point for when I think a reason warrants trust, and negative point for when I think trust should be revoked. By the end, I’ll give you a total score that will judge whether you should trust and use Telegram or not.

You should know that your chats are not private with Telegram. But if you only intend to use Telegram for its public features and you understand you are not private, go ahead.

SOURCES [references available in the video transcript]

[0] https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/20/technology/meta-section-230-lawsuit.html
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/28/technology/durov-telegram-liability-platforms.html
[2] https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/09/myanmar-facebooks-systems-promoted-violence-against-rohingya-meta-owes-reparations-new-report/
[3] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-59558090
[4] https://time.com/6217730/myanmar-meta-rohingya-facebook/
[5] https://www.politico.eu/article/exclusive-telegram-ceo-brother-nikolai-durov-wanted-france-authorities-pavel-durov/
[6] https://apnews.com/article/telegram-pavel-durov-arrest-2c8015c102cce23c23d55c6ca82641c5
[7] https://apnews.com/article/france-telegram-pavel-durov-arrest-6e213d227458f330ed16e7fe221a696c
[8] https://www.politico.eu/article/france-charges-telegram-ceo-pavel-durov-released-bail/
[9] https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/03/technology/once-celebrated-in-russia-programmer-pavel-durov-chooses-exile.html
[10] https://apnews.com/article/telegram-pavel-durov-passports-ce3b260f1366fe0f4480313f1e1d2c0a
[11] https://t.me/durov/142
[12] https://t.me/durov/153
[13] https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/blog/fellow-research-toward-privacy-friendly-digital-ads/
[14] https://duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/company/ads-by-microsoft-on-duckduckgo-private-search/
[15] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-12/cryptic-russian-crusader-says-his-5-billion-app-can-t-be-bought
[16] https://www.ft.com/content/8d6ceb0d-4cdb-4165-bdfa-4b95b3e07b2a?sharetype=gift
[17] https://t.me/transparency
[18] https://time.com/7015129/pavel-durov-arrest-france-telegram/
[19] https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2024/country-chapters/united-arab-emirates
[20] https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/middle-east-and-north-africa/middle-east/united-arab-emirates/report-united-arab-emirates/
[21] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/14/telegram_ceo_calls_out_rival/
[22] https://meduza.io/en/news/2020/06/22/telegram-founder-says-anti-censorship-tech-used-to-defeat-russian-authorities-should-be-used-in-iran-and-china
[23] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/11/19/founder-of-app-used-by-isis-once-said-we-shouldnt-feel-guilty-on-wednesday-he-banned-their-accounts/
[24] https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/sheerafrenkel/telegram-founder-blames-socialists-for-paris-attacks
[25] https://propertyofthepeople.org/document-detail/?doc-id=21114562
[26] https://blog.cryptographyengineering.com/2024/08/25/telegram-is-not-really-an-encrypted-messaging-app/
[27] https://www.wired.com/story/telegram-encryption-end-to-end-features/
[28] https://apnews.com/article/meta-messenger-full-encryption-2ab384258750fd83cc3b5d9d8622f0f4
[29] https://www.wired.com/story/telegram-encryption-end-to-end-features/

CREDITS

Music by @co.agmusic

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The footage and images featured in the video were for critical analysis, commentary and parody, which are protected under the Fair Use laws of the United States Copyright act of 1976.