At the end of August, Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of the popular messaging app Telegram was arrested in Paris, France over allegations that he and his company were “allowing” the platform to be used for illicit activities. Reports have been vague and unclear as to exactly what this means, resulting in understandable criticism from groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
This should be a concerning issue for anyone concerned about digital freedom and privacy.
While it is important that these types of companies don’t actively hinder legitimate investigations, it’s also important that they aren’t held responsible for activities they cannot control. It’s also particularly important that we don’t allow authorities to indirectly muscle companies into giving up their user’s private information at their every whim and when it cannot be justified in a free society.
The Canadian Constitution Foundation’s Executive Director Joanna Baron has weighed in on this topic in her most recent article for The Hub. Read the full article here.
And here are more stories we’ve been following this week:
- Threat of constitutional challenge leads Niagara Regional Council to change sign and prop bans
- McGill law professors on strike in protest of challenge to union certification
- Toronto judge gets rebuke for ‘mocking,’ ‘inflammatory’ and ‘inappropriate’ comments in family court battle
- ‘It’s a lie,’ billionaire Frank Stronach says of 13 sex crime charges filed against him
- What is Telegram and What is Telegram and why was its CEO arrested in Paris?
- The drift toward unfreedom
- Full interview with Frank Stronach and Christine Van Geyn
- Foreign interference inquiry still pushing for documents despite quiet recent release by government
- Chris Alexander: Russian propaganda should have no place at TIFF
- Alberta First Nation suing federal government over right to clean drinking water
- “Fairy Tales” by Prof. Leonid Sirota (On public confidence in the judiciary)
