Pressure is once again on Telegram founder Pavel Durov.

Last month, France almost banned encryption technology. A law requiring instant messaging apps to install backdoors for police to access private information was passed by the Senate. Fortunately, the bill was rejected by the National Assembly. However, three days ago, the chief of the Paris police again advocated for this bill.

Members of the National Assembly wisely rejected a law that could have made France the first country in the world to deprive its citizens of their privacy rights. Even many European countries considered to lack freedom have never banned encryption. Why?

Because technically, it is impossible to guarantee that only the police can access the backdoor. Once introduced, the backdoor could be exploited by others—from foreign agents to hackers. Thus, the private information of all law-abiding citizens could be leaked.

That's why, as I mentioned before, Telegram would rather exit the market than use a backdoor to compromise encryption technology and violate fundamental human rights. Unlike some of our competitors, we will not sacrifice privacy for market share.

In its 12-year history, Telegram has never leaked even a byte of private messages. Under the EU Digital Services Act, if a valid court order is obtained, Telegram will only disclose the IP address and phone number of a suspect, not any messages.

Last month, freedom finally prevailed. But it also reminds us: we must continually explain to legislators that encryption technology is not built to protect criminals—it is built to protect the privacy and security of ordinary people. Losing this protection would be a tragedy.

The fight is far from over. This month, the European Commission proposed a similar initiative aimed at adding backdoors to communication applications. No country is immune to the slow erosion of freedom. These freedoms are under attack every day—and we must defend them every day.