Telegram founder Pavel Durov stated that the European Union is seeking to adopt legislation banning data encryption in instant messaging applications, considering it a "dangerous matter."
"Last month, the French Senate passed legislation that effectively banned encryption," Durov said in an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson, published Monday. He added that the legislation would not have achieved its goal, as criminals could use VPNs, which would have helped them cover their tracks.
Durov pointed out that although the French authorities were unable to finally adopt this legislation due to its rejection by the House of Representatives, there is a push across the European Union to ban full data encryption.
He explained that new legislation may require applications to use encryption with secret keys that can be used to access data.
"This is a huge risk for the entire population and all users if companies commit to using encryption with secret access keys," Durov said.
Politico reported last April that the European Commission was seeking to obtain encrypted data from apps to combat terrorism and crime as part of the EU's new internal security strategy.
