As much as I agree that Europe needs to break the power of Big Tech, Durov actually has a point.
Mandatory age checks will be the end of the open web.
“But the children…” is always the rhetorical device of choice to justify more surveillance. Meanwhile a pedo ring rules the world, with plaintext emails, without facing consequences.
If the EU is serious about confronting Big Tech, it should abolish anti-circumvention laws, as Cory Doctorow (npub1fdr…lvhs) argues. Invest in open source, instead of wiring massive sums to Microsoft every month. And tax billionaires out of existence forchrissake.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/05/spain-hits-back-at-pavel-durov-over-mass-telegram-post-on-social-media-ban-plan?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other