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I remember, right after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, when Russian citizens claimed that their access to most social media platforms and messaging apps was cut off or strongly discouraged by the Kremlin. The Kremlin basically told everyone that they could only use Telegram, a messaging app developed by shadowy Russian tech billionaire Pavel Durov. I’ve never used Telegram, although I’ve heard stories about how it’s grown in popularity with Europeans and Russians. Well, over the weekend, Pavel Durov was arrested in France for all of the criminal sh-t being done by Telegram’s users. This is a huge story in Europe and Russia and it’s a huge story for any tech billionaire who believes he should not be held liable for what happens on his platform (cough cough Elon Musk cough). So I was reading this CNN story about Durov and did you know this guy claims to have 100 children??
Pavel Durov is a lot of things to a lot of people. Programming prodigy. Billionaire entrepreneur. Kremlin stooge. Free-speech fighter. Biological father to at least 100 kids.
Durov, the elusive founder of Telegram who was detained in France over the weekend, cuts the figure of a mysterious, globe-trotting tech bro with Mark Zuckerberg’s prodigiousness, Jack Dorsey’s bizarre lifestyle habits and Elon Musk’s libertarian streak – plus a similar obsession with pronatalism and fathering children. Durov said in July that he had fathered more than 100 children thanks to sperm donations he had made over the past 15 years.
Worth an estimated $9.15 billion according to Bloomberg and armed with an array of passports and residences, Durov has for a decade lived a life without borders, a man on an often-shirtless journey to secure the freedom of communication from the prying eyes of governments, democratically elected or otherwise.
Now, Durov’s legal trouble is drudging up an old debate, pitting Telegram’s end-to-end encryption, which keeps communications between users secure even from the company’s employees, against the security concerns of various governments and the European Union’s campaign to rein in big tech.
Durev built Telegram back when Mark Zuckerberg bought WhatsApp, because Durev didn’t think anything on the market was good enough. Telegram’s double-blind encryption system means that it’s the messaging app of choice for terrorists, despots, coup plotters and, as always, pedophiles. And of course this guy is a “pronatalist.” That’s in the grand tradition of creepy, shadowy, authoritarian-supporting tech billionaires being obsessed with repopulating the earth with their “seed.” I can’t believe sperm banks let this guy donate that much. Ew. I really hope he doesn’t have that many children out there. It’s some Boys From Brazil bullsh-t.
Photos courtesy of Getty.
