Showdown between digital platforms, governments shows that neither cares about user rights

Over the past few weeks, the confrontation between digital platforms and countries has taken a dramatic turn: Telegram chief executive Pavel Durov was arrested in France in August and Justice Alexandre Moraes of Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered the blocking of X, formerly Twitter, in the country the same month.

A tiny collection of oligarchs control more of the human race’s communications than has ever been possible before. They are, once again, drawn into the kind of confrontations with national governments that they are accustomed to losing – at the expense of their users Their cry of “my free speech” actually only means “my money”, and any reference to the free speech of their users is deception. Users always wind up with less freedom – because their governments do not act in their interest and the states always win while platforms care for little more than the bottom line.

But matters have came to a head.

Durov is in French custody and under criminal investigation. The French passport he was traveling on was given to him by President Emmanuel Macron, who apparently possesses a power to confer citizenship on the basis of personal approval. The investigating magistrates intend to charge Durov and others with offences involving facilitation of illegal...

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