September 24, 2024
Score this one Nation-States 2, Tech Tycoons 0?
Pavel Durov, the CEO of the messaging app Telegram who was arrested recently in France on charges that his platform facilitated criminal activity and was refusing to help law enforcement investigate, has changed his tune.
After initially claiming it was “absurd” to hold a platform responsible for illicit content, Telegram now says it will share information with law enforcement “in response to valid legal requests.”
The about-face came just days after self-styled “free speech” crusader Elon Muskclimbed down in his battle with Brazil. To refresh: Last month, Musk rejected a Brazilian court order for X to deactivate certain disinformation accounts, refused to pay relevant fines, removed X’s local legal rep, and launched a meme war against Brazil’s controversial disinformation czar.
As a result, X was banned outright in the 200-million-strong country, and that seems to have turned the tables. Now, the company is reportedly ready to take down the accounts, reappoint a rep in Brazil, and pay fines.
Depending on your politics, you may see all of this as a victory for the nation-state (nearly undefeated since the Peace of Westphalia, as GZERO’s Matt Kendrick points out) or as a hit to free speech and privacy. What’s your view? Share with us here.
More For You
The Supreme Court is facing some of the biggest legal and political questions of the Trump era. Emily Bazelon joins Ian Bremmer to break down the rulings that could reshape executive power, voting rights, and public trust in America's highest court.
Most Popular
Think you know what's going on around the world? Here's your chance to prove it.
Smoke billows from southern Lebanon, following Israeli strikes, as seen from Nabatieh, Lebanon, June 4, 2026.
REUTERS/Stringer
Lebanon and Israel signed a ceasefire, but Hezbollah didn't, and that is a problem. With Netanyahu under pressure to escalate, Trump searching for a face-saving exit, and Iran unmoved by US muscle-flexing, the deadlock shows no signs of breaking.
US President Donald Trump listens to a question from a reporter prior to signing an executive order on AI next to Sriram Krishnan, Senior White House Policy Advisor on Artificial Intelligence, US Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and David Sacks, chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., USA, on December 11, 2025.
REUTERS/Al Drago
Artificial intelligence and Donald Trump's foreign policy are creating huge tail risks for markets.
© 2025 GZERO Media. All Rights Reserved | A Eurasia Group media company.