Telegram CEO: As countries continue to expand surveillance powers, the "free internet" is facing a serious threat

Jinse Finance reported that Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov has warned that the “free internet” is facing a serious threat as countries around the world continue to expand their surveillance powers. Durov pointed out that governments globally are quietly stripping people of their basic freedoms in the name of “regulation” and “security,” posing unprecedented challenges to internet privacy and openness. On his 41st birthday on October 10, he posted on X: “Our generation is running out of time to save the free internet our fathers built for us.” He warned that a “dark, dystopian world is rapidly approaching,” noting that countries once seen as models of freedom are now undermining privacy protections. Durov stated: “Countries that were once free are introducing various dystopian measures, such as digital IDs (UK), online age verification (Australia), and large-scale scanning of private messages (EU).” He further emphasized: “The promise of free information exchange is gradually evolving into the ultimate tool of control. If this trend is not curbed, our generation may become the last to enjoy basic digital freedoms.”