The arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov is having an unexpected effect, at least for some, with his arrest being a major concern for the Russian military.

Durov founded Telegram when he was still living in Russia, before eventually leaving the country because he would not turn over user data to Russian authorities. Despite that history, Telegram has become a popular communication medium within the Russian military, especially on the Ukrainian front.

Because of the questions surrounding Durov’s arrest in France, Russian publications and military bloggers are pointing out the issues it poses for the military.

“In fact, the head of communication of the Russian Armed Forces was detained,” wrote Povernutie na Z Voine (machine translated), the Russian military blogger channel.

Blog site Dva Mayora voiced similar sentiments.

“Absolutely so: the fact that Telegram at the moment has become almost the main means of managing units in the SVO zone (and on both sides of the front) – the secret is only for some people in the Main Department of Communications (GUS),” wrote Dva Mayora (machine translated).

“The good news is that we have such developments, and they represent not just a military messenger, but a full-fledged system of decision-making support (SPR) with many other functions. They are also engaged not Kulibins, but real proactive professionals of their field, about which the Ministry of Defense is aware.

“The bad news is that the GUS has a real interest in the purposeful and centralized introduction of them into the troops for two years and a half years has not appeared. About the same ECU TK, which for decades were spent astronomical sums, and there is nothing to say.

“It will be very sad and at the same time funny if the catalyst for changes in approaches to the means of communication and management in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will be the arrest of Pavel Durov. And the problems of a purely military nature that have not accumulated in two years, which in the profile department for some reason preferred to close their eyes.”

Telegram Exemplifies the Challenges Developers Face Amid Geo-Political Tension

Durov’s arrest serves as a chilling warning for developers of apps and platforms for at least two reasons.

Jurisdictional Issues

The differences in jurisdiction can create significant legal issues. French authorities arrested Durov because bad actors use Telegram to share illegal content, and authorities say Telegram does not do enough to moderate such content. In the US, Durov would not be arrested for that, since companies are legally protected from liability for what bad actors do on their platforms. That is not the case in the EU, or at least not to the same extent, meaning Durov was legally vulnerable there.

Does the same apply to Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, or the CEO of any other social media or communication platform on which bad actors do bad things? What about an up-and-coming developer/company that releases a wildly popular secure communication app that some bad actors use? Do the executives of that platform have to worry about traveling to the EU?

How Governments Use Technology

The second issue that could become a growing challenge for some developers is how governments will use the technology they create, and the pressures that come with that. Durov is no stranger to being on the wrong side of Russian authorities, given that he refused to turn over user data, directly leading to him leaving the country.

Nonetheless, despite the history, Telegram is still one of the most important and powerful communication tools in use by the Russian military. This, in turn, means Russia has far more at stake in the outcome of Durov’s current legal issues—even if there’s no love lost between Durov and the Kremlin, and regardless of whether Durov wants Russia’s help.

Conclusion

If there’s one thing Durov’s arrest shows, it’s this: Gone are the days when a developer could release an app and only worry about whether it was good enough to gain users.

Nowadays, an app becoming wildly popular may be more of a curse than a blessing.