The Arrest of Pavel Durov Is a Reminder That Telegram Is Not Encrypted

French police arrested Pavel Durov, the outspoken and sperm-obsessed co-founder of Telegram, over the weekend on charges related to the spread of illicit material on the platform. As news spread of Durov’s arrest, outlets and pundits repeated a description of Telegram that isn’t true: they called it an encrypted messaging app. Reuters called Telegram an “encrypted application.” In Axios, Telegram is an “encrypted messaging app.” CNN quoted failed presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy JR’s description of Durov as the CEO of the “encrypted, uncensored Telegram platform.” Telegram is a lot...