Pavel Durov, founder of the popular messaging app Telegram, accused tech giants Google and Apple of being the real enemies of free speech on the internet in a recent interview with Tucker Carlson.
Pavel Durov, the Russian-born founder of the encrypted messaging platform Telegram, recently attended an unusual lecture. In-depth interview with former FOX News host Tucker Carlson. During the conversation, Mr. Durov shared his thoughts on social media and the technology industry, with a particular focus on the issue of free speech online.
Durov argued that the biggest barrier to free speech on the internet is not governments, but rather Big Tech companies, particularly Apple and Google. He argued that because the two companies own the world’s top app stores, their rules and regulations ultimately control free speech online.
“I don’t think the biggest pressure on Telegram is coming from the government. It’s coming from Apple and Google,” Durov said. “So when it comes to free speech, these two platforms can essentially censor anything you can read or access on your smartphone.”
Durov pointed out that almost everyone in the world who has ever downloaded a smartphone app did so through the Google Play Store or App Store, giving these companies tremendous power. The government is even moving ahead with legislation that would strip companies like Apple and Google of some of this power.
Durov acknowledged that these companies have general guidelines in place that are “difficult to agree to,” such as prohibiting violence, discrimination, and child sexual abuse content on the platforms distributed through their stores. Meanwhile, Telegram revealed that it had been forced to remove content it believed in. This was a “legitimate way for people to voice their opinions” to comply with Apple and Google regulations. Failure to do so will result in Telegram being removed from app stores, which would mean “a significant portion of the world’s population will no longer have access to a valuable tool.”
please look Click here for the full interview.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News, covering free speech and online censorship issues.
