I must confess I’m not a big user of social media, but messaging apps – that’s a different story. Google Chat is integral to the Guardian Weekly team’s hybrid working setup, and barely an hour goes by without a WhatsApp message pinging on my phone from a friend, an activity group or a teenager on the doorstep without keys.
But some apps I know less about, and Telegram is one of them. Due to its watertight security and a function that lets users form very large groups, Telegram has a reputation for being popular with people organising on the margins – and that could mean pro-democracy protesters, far-right extremists, criminal gangs or terrorists.
Pavel Durov, Telegram’s founder and CEO, has long portrayed the app as a politically neutral platform for free speech. But last week the enigmatic Russian who once dubbed himself an “internet prophet” was arrested in France and charged with complicity in the spread of images of child sexual abuse, as well as a litany of other alleged violations, raising the question of whether Telegram – and by implication other social networks – can be held criminally liable by nation states for illegal content appearing on it.
For this week’s big story, Russian affairs reporter Pjotr Sauer profiles Durov’s rise and (potential) fall, while our outgoing UK tech editor Alex Hern signs off with an explainer about Telegram and what the wider implications are.
Then, the Observer’s Carole Cadwalladr considers the Durov charges in relation to last week’s unrelated banning of Elon Musk’s X network in Brazil, and asks: is it about time the world pushed back against the billionaire tech bros?
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Five essential reads in this week’s edition
1
Spotlight | Ukraine’s troops on their audacious incursion into Russia
Soldiers say they had no warning of what they were undertaking before the morale-boosting attack began, finds Shaun Walker in Sumy.
2
Science | The flying scientists showing migrating birds the way home
Extinct in central Europe for 300 years, a flock of northern bald ibis is following a light aircraft on a migration route from Austria to Spain, reports Phoebe Weston.
3
Feature | Tony Blair on the art of leadership
The former UK prime minister speaks to Andrew Rawnsley about relinquishing power, why he wouldn’t be fazed by a second Trump term – and why he’s an AI evangelist.
4
Opinion | Why does Macron insist on playing king?
The French president’s refusal to appoint a new PM from the left displays breathtaking arrogance – and undermines democracy, argues Rokhaya Diallo.
5
Culture | Look who’s back in anger
Will an Oasis reunion be a success? Definitely. Will it be worth it? Maybe, say Guardian arts writers.
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What else we’ve been reading
Back to school time has its own “new year, new you” vibe and the turn of seasons leads to lots of lists of what to read, do or listen to. I’ve downloaded the culture recommendations but the first and most important thing to tackle is my appalling time management, so I delved into this encyclopedic list of life hacks. If I can add a couple more to the three or four I already practise (making my bed every morning and hanging the socks in pairs for example), then I’ll have space to read and see more. Isobel Montgomery, Deputy editor
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Other highlights from the Guardian website
• Video | Explainer – who is Pavel Durov?
• Audio | What Australians buy and what it says about the economy – Full Story podcast
• Gallery | River Story: the life and times of a river over a year
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