Europe’s Free Speech Crackdown Could Be Coming For Americans Next, Advocates Warn

he arrest of Telegram’s founder endangers the future of free expression and privacy rights, multiple civil liberties advocates told the Caller.

Durov’s arrest was spearheaded by France’s OFMIN, the agency tasked with protecting children from violence. Various governments — the U.S., U.K. and the European Union (E.U.) — have advanced legislation aimed at protecting children online. However, critics say these policies could be weaponized to chill freedom of speech and greenlight government censorship.

“[Kid’s] safety is a very useful pretext for censors,” the Foundation for Freedom Online (FFO) told the Caller in a statement, comparing the issue to a “trojan horse.”

“Unlike other common excuses, like ‘disinformation’ and ‘hate speech,’ it is a real issue that the public is strongly concerned about.”

OFMIN issued the arrest warrant for a preliminary investigation into allegations of drug trafficking, fraud, cyberbullying, “organised crime and promotion of terrorism,” France 24 reported. Durov was ultimately charged Wednesday with complicity in the spread of sexual images of children.