Telegram Issues Privacy Warning to Users in France

• The EU has scheduled a vote in favor of a law that provides for total control of private communications.
• The initiative was supported by French officials, in particular ministers Laurent Nunez and Bruno Retaillot.
• Telegram sent a message to French users warning of the risks.

Telegram has sent a warning to French users about the threat to privacy that has arisen in connection with the Chat Control initiative. This was reported by the founder of the messenger Pavel Durov.

According to him, the European Union has almost banned the right to privacy by planning to vote for a law that would force apps to scan all private messages, turning every phone into a surveillance tool.

Pavel Durov said France was one of the main initiators of the innovation. He said the law was supported by both current and former interior ministers Laurent Nunez and Bruno Retaio. Both said in March that the police should have access to citizens’ communications.

Despite its stated goal of fighting crime, Durov noted that Chat Control will not be effective against actual offenders. The latter can easily bypass restrictions using VPNs or specialized platforms. At the same time, messages of officials and police will not be subject to scanning.

He explained that Germany’s sudden stance helped block the bill’s passage. However, the threat to privacy still remains, while European leaders, in particular the French, continue to insist on full access to personal data.

Recall, in April 2025, Pavel Durov threatened to leave the EU market because of the threat to Telegram’s privacy.