Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, warned users in France about the European Union's attempts to undermine the privacy of private messages. In a post on the social network X, he noted that the EU was preparing to vote on a bill that would require apps to scan all messages, turning smartphones into surveillance devices.

"Today, the European Union almost took away your right to privacy. It was preparing to vote on a law that would require apps to scan all personal messages, turning all users' phones into spying tools." — Durov wrote.

The initiative, known as Chat Control, was blocked at the last minute by Germany, but a re-vote is expected in December, he said.

Durov emphasized that such measures ostensibly combat crime, but in reality affect ordinary citizens, while government officials and law enforcement remain outside the scope of the law. He believes France actively promoted the law.