Arrest of Pavel Durov, Telegram CEO, charges of terrorism, fraud, child porn

> Personal rights end where they start to harm others, or harm society in general

This empty saying is used to justify basically any violation of civil liberty, because it is unprincipled and open ended, so it can be used to respond to any action anyone can take

> The commenter likely didn’t mean what they wrote

No, I meant what I wrote. The government has no business judging the truth. What is the Russian disinformation from earlier in this thread? For example, is it discussing the illegal 2014 coup in Ukraine that ousted a democratically elected government that was friendly to Russia? To EU overlords, discussing that event is “spreading disinformation” even though it is factually true and deserving of discussion. It’s a great example of political censorship being a problem.

> don’t absolutize “free speech”, or argue that authorities shouldn’t care about what is true or not.

Free speech should be absolutized in day to day discussion, even if there are very limited exceptions in the law. It’s when there is permission from society to limit speech that populations end up propagandized and suppressed by whoever has power over them. That’s what is happening here, where people are coming up with absurd mental gymnastics to justify France’s authoritarian actions.

> judging what is true is necessary for a state being able to function in the interest of its people

This sounds like support for Soviet or China style control of speech, and labeling of anything that power disagrees with as misinformation. Authorities shouldn’t care about what is true or not, because they are biased and corrupted by their agendas and ideologies and incentives. The free exchange of information is foundational to any free and democratic society. That’s what is necessary for a state to be able to function in the interest of its people.

Not true. That charge was dropped. He was convicted of numerous other charges related to running Silk Road: Engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, distributing narcotics, distributing narcotics by means of the Internet, conspiring to distribute narcotics, etc.

I think people are missing the fact that this could be just a power play situation and intel gathering at intelligence services level. We don’t know everything, and the stakes may be high right now, so maybe the French and more broadly the west, are trying to gather info and see what is really going on while trying to get an advantage. So a larger geopolitical power play here and way less about morals, laws, ethics, precedents, comparable other cases etc, etc…

"...you're saying MTProto isn't binary?"

> The premise of this story is that Telegram offers a service which is very similar to safe deposit boxes, the bank it's not supposed to know what you keep in there hence they are not held responsible if they are used for illegal activities.

This is the issue. Web platforms DO NOT have that kind of legal protection - be it Telegram, Instagram, or Hacker News.

Safe Harbor from liability in return for Content Moderation is expected from all internet platforms as part of Section 230 (USA), Directive 2000/31/EC (EU), Defamation Act 2023 (UK), etc.

As part of that content moderation, it is EXPECTED that you crack down on CP, Illicit Drug Transactions, Threats of Violence, and other felonies.

Also, that is NOT how bank deposit boxes work. All banks are expected to KYC if they wish to transact in every major currency (Dollar, Euro, Pound, Yen, Yuan, Rupee, etc) and if they cannot, they are expected to close that account or be cut off from transacting in that country's currency.

> That's why in that famous TV drama Jessy Pinkam says "You dont want a criminal lawyer, you want a Criminal. Lawyer.".

First, it's Pinkman BIATCH not Pinkam.

And secondly, Jimmy McGill (aka Saul Goodman) was previously suspended by the NM Bar Association barely 5 years before Breaking Bad, and was then disbarred AND held criminally liable when SHTF towards the finale.