When Elon Musk proclaimed that he was a “free speech absolutist,” it’s clear that quite a few globalists became rather edgy.
After all, free speech means an absence of governmental censorship, which was on rather full display throughout the COVID pandemic.
Not to mention the 2020 presidential election.
As a result, many have long feared that varied governments would soon go after prominent individuals for extolling the virtues of free speech.
And that’s precisely what occurred in none other than ultra-woke France, well known for being a top ally of the Biden administration, alongside Trudeau in Canada, Starmer in the UK, and so forth.
Multiple media outlets reported on the shocking arrest of Telegram CEO, which occurred immediately after he touched down on French soil.
“Pavel Durov, the co-founder and CEO of the messaging app Telegram, was arrested at an airport in Paris Saturday after getting off his private jet, according to French media reports …
French authorities had issued a search warrant as part of a preliminary investigation into Durov – a staunch free speech advocate – and his encrypted messaging app, which has some 900 million users worldwide,” the New York Post reported.
Well then. Seems like someone wasn’t ready to play ball with the globalists.
Then again, Durov apparently wasn’t willing to play ball with Russia either, as mentioned in the same report.
“Durov founded Telegram in 2013 with his brother Nikolai, but fled Russia in 2014 after he refused to hand over encrypted user data to Russian officials or silence communities opposing the government,” the New York Post added.
Indeed, Durov left Russia a decade ago in favor of dual Emirati-French citizenship.
Who knew that France would turn out to be more militant than Russia and the United Arab Emirates?
After all, the charges against Durov are rather asinine, ranging from “terrorism” to “child pornography.”
As if Facebook isn’t littered with similar nonsense … though Facebook is rather notorious for “playing ball.”
Like censoring the Hunter Biden story, despite full awareness that it was quite real.
That censorship has undoubtedly contributed to the horrific prominence of hapless Harris today.
In looking back on remarks Durov has made over the years, it soon becomes clear why he became the target of several “liberal” nations that have a curiously illiberal approach to free speech.
In a 2016 interview with “60 Minutes,” Durov underscored his commitment to free speech, including the fact he refused to “hand over” data as commanded.
“I’m personally for the privacy side … But one thing that should be clear is that you cannot make just one exception for law enforcement without endangering private communications of hundreds of millions of people because encryption is either secure or not,” Durov declared.
And Durov’s commitment to non-censorship and non-governmental interference has been consistent over the years.
According to a tweet from NEXTA, Durov had managed to irk the Democrats by refusing to hand over data on January 6 “protestors.”
“People are revisiting an interview with Pavel Durov where he discussed the challenges his company faced following the January 6th events in the U.S. Durov revealed that Telegram received conflicting requests: Democrats demanded user data linked to the protests, while Republicans warned that compliance would violate the Constitution.
He highlighted the difficult position his company was in, where any action could be interpreted as breaking the law,” NEXTA tweeted.
Clearly, Facebook didn’t have such issues, given its continued functionality, sans governmental interference, today.
The same tweet includes a chilling excerpt from Durov’s interview with Tucker Carlson, which validates NEXTA’s claim.
In essence, the Democrats demanded data while the Republicans ordered him not to release data … with both parties claiming that Durov would “violate” the Constitution.
“So, we got two letters that said whatever we do, we’d be violating the US Constitution,” Durov declared.
A real shame that other large technology companies have not been similarly targeted.
Then again, they appear to have less concern with freedom than Durov.
“I understood that I would rather be free. I wouldn’t want to take orders from anyone and I left behind probably a comfortable life … For me it was never about becoming rich. For me everything in my life was about becoming free, and to an extent it is possible, my mission in life was to allow other people to also become free,” Durov detailed.
And that free thinking is rather dangerous to the opposition … hence the sudden arrest.
Unsurprisingly, Musk is aghast by what has unfolded with Durov, illustrating a rather chilling portrayal of the future.
“POV: It’s 2030 in Europe and you’re being executed for liking a meme,” Musk proclaimed.
Musk probably isn’t too far off point. After all, the UK has been arresting people left and right for daring to voice “different” opinions … such as the protestors opposed to endless illegal immigration.
Sooner, rather than later, it is likely that action against anyone for voicing the “wrong” opinion on social media may escalate
Hence the importance of staying off of it, if at all possible.
Of course, varied investigators are wholly convinced of the value of their “arrest.”
“Pavel Durov will end up in pretrial detention, that’s for sure … On his platform, he allowed an incalculable number of offenses and crimes to be committed, for which he did nothing to moderate or cooperate,” one investigator declared.
Uh huh. As did Facebook, pre-Musk Twitter, and too many other woke companies to count.
“Enough of Telegram’s impunity,” another investigator declared.
Funny.
The same could be said of the rulers of the world’s “free” countries.
Author: Jane Jones
