Telegram vs Facebook

Very significant events related to the two social media giants happened almost simultaneously last week: the arrest of  Pavel Durov, the Russian-born entrepreneur who founded the online communications platform Telegram, and a repentance letter from Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms Inc., owner of Facebook, to Jim Jordan, chair of the House Judiciary Committee.

According to French prosecutors, Durov was charged with complicity in managing Telegram to enable illegal transactions by organized groups, as well as with complicity in crimes such as allowing the distribution of child sexual abuse material, fraud, and drug trafficking.

The House Judiciary Committee earlier investigated Zuckerberg into claims of collusion with the Biden administration and has long criticized Facebook and other tech giants for perceived liberal bias and censorship. However, contrary to Durov, Zuckerberg was treated mildly, only by public rebuke.  In his letter to Jordan, Zuckerberg admitted to yielding to pressure from Biden’s 2020 election team to suppress important news stories, including the one on Hunter Biden’s laptop containing vast volumes of compromising materials on Biden’s family, including its financial machinations in Ukraine and elsewhere. Zuckerberg wrote in the letter: “It’s since been made clear that the reporting was not Russian disinformation, and in retrospect, we shouldn’t have demoted the story.”

Durov’s arrest appears to be a rather flagrant abuse and is only loosely related to the EU legal basis given as justification

So, let us compare two cases.

The arrest of Durov has sparked concerns about whether it is a justified move against illegal activities or a dangerous overreach threatening privacy and free speech. Some believe the second: “The vague charges, including issues around encryption, complicity in illegal activities, and refusal to cooperate with law enforcement, raise more questions than answers, leaving doubts about the legitimacy of the arrest.”

Former British ambassador to Uzbekistan Craig Murray thoroughly investigated the 83 EU Digital Services Act articles and concluded that “Durov’s arrest appears to be pretty blatant abuse and only very tenuously connected to the legal basis given as justification. This is simply a part of the current rising wave of authoritarianism in Western “democracies.”

Of course, as Durov’s saga continues, we will hear other opinions. Still, the criminal case against him is open, and whether it will turn into another Julian Assange-like or Kafka-like process remains to be seen. At the same time, Zuckerberg’s situation is less dramatic. Jim Jordan even praised him by calling his letter “a big win for free speech.”  So, although Zuckerberg will face challenges in the future due to being caught in the crosshairs and his and Meta’s reputations being hurt, there have been no arrests or legal actions.

At the same time, while the impact of Durov’s activities is still under investigation, the one of Zuckerber’s and those who forced him to conduct them is known, and it is not pretty. “What Zuckerberg is admitting to is just the tip of the iceberg of federal agency corruption,” Sen. Ron Johnson, Wisconsin Republican. Mr. Johnson said the FBI has been working to undermine a Senate investigation into Hunter Biden, and lawmakers believe the efforts to block their probe were directed by “someone in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.”

A former CIA official testified that then-Biden campaign senior adviser and now-Secretary of State Antony Blinken “played a role in the inception” of the public statement signed by current and past intelligence officials claiming the Hunter Biden laptop was part of a Russian disinformation campaign. In October 2020, weeks before the presidential election, 51 ex-national security officials signed a letter claiming that Hunter’s laptop had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.” The former officials included former Obama CIA Director John Brennan, former Obama DNI James Clapper, former CIA director, and then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, among others.

Zuckerberg should repent for helping Biden win presidential election in 2020

79% of Americans suggest President Donald Trump likely would have won reelection if voters had known the truth about Hunter Biden’s laptop—that it was real and not “Russian disinformation,” as intelligence officials aligned with Joe Biden falsely led the public to believe a national poll reveals.

Whether Trump, in case of victory in 2020, would prevent the war in Ukraine and its tragic results is an open question. Still, knowing his character and resistance to getting America into the wars, this could be possible. Imagine how many lives would be saved and how safer the world would be today.

Zuckerberg was not central to suppressing the laptop story, but he contributed to it. I’m not sure if it bothers his conscience, but it must.