The Mindplex Podcast Episode 36: Pavel Durov's Arrest & Telegram's Encryption Issues
Join David Greene, EFF Senior Staff Attorney and Civil Liberties Director, as he joins Lisa Rein to discuss the latest about Pavel Durov's arrest in France and the implications of Telegram's unencrypted group chats for its users.
Even Telegram's one-to-one direct messages are only encrypted if the "secret chat" feature is enabled by both parties.
Another troubling issue is that Telegram stores its messages in the cloud, as plain text, as this Tweet from Signal Founder Moxie Marlinspike explains: https://x.com/moxie/status/1828464949703909574
For these reasons, Telegram can't actually be considered a "secure messaging app" because real secure messaging apps, such as Signal and What's App, are end-to-end encrypted by default.
A lot of Telegram users might not care if their group chats aren't encrypted, as they are using group chats to broadcast to the public anyway, but for those who might be using Telegram for more sensitive group conversations, it's an important fact to make note of.
About David Greene, Senior Staff Attorney and Civil Liberties Director, EFF
David Greene has significant experience litigating First Amendment issues in state and federal trial and appellate courts. David is also an adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law, where he teaches classes in First Amendment and media law and was formerly an instructor in the journalism department at San Francisco State University.
David has written and lectured extensively on many areas of First Amendment Law, including as a contributor to the International Encyclopedia of Censorship. Before joining EFF, David was for twelve years the Executive Director and Lead Staff Counsel for First Amendment Project, where he worked with EFF on numerous cases including Bunner v. DVDCCA. David also previously served as program director of the National Campaign for Freedom of Expression where he was the principal contributor and general editor of the NCFE Quarterly and the principal author of the NCFE Handbook to Understanding, Preparing for and Responding to Challenges to your Freedom of Artistic Expression. He also practiced with the firms Bryan Cave LLP and Hancock, Rothert & Bunshoft. Way back in 1998, he was a founding member, with David Sobel and Shari Steele, of the Internet Free Expression Alliance. He is a 1991 graduate of Duke University School of Law.
David's work has been recognized by California Lawyer magazine as a 2013 California Lawyer Attorney of the Year, and by the SPJ Northern California as the recipient of its 2007 James Madison Freedom of information Award for Legal Counsel. He was also awarded The Hon. Ira A. Brown Adjunct Faculty Award by USF Law School in 2012.
David currently serves on the steering committee of the Free Expression Network, the governing committee of the ABA Forum on Communications Law, and on advisory boards for several arts and free speech organizations across the country.
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