We demand the protection of girls from cyberbullying, blackmail, involvement in prostitution and slavery by setting real moderation in the channels and groups of the Telegram messenger.

“Telegram” is one of the most popular instant messengers in Russia, also due to the fact that Pavel Valeryevich Durov declares their a “freedom of speech” - everyone’s right to disseminate any information. In practice, this means the complete defenselessness of citizens against any fraudster who started harassing and blackmailing private individuals through Telegram channels.

What does it lead to?
1. Blackmail of girls. Fraudsters use Telegram channels and Telegram groups to collect photos and passport data of girls, often even underage girls, and rig the information in such a way as to prove that girls are engaged in prostitution and have an idle and carefree lifestyle which in our society is unacceptable for further career and creating a family.

Thus, giving girls great inconvenience, forcing once again to make excuses for what actually was not. And if the girls want that defamatory honor and dignity information will not be published in the Telegram channel, rogue admins offer victims to pay money in advance: for canceling the publication, in case of refusal, the information will published in full volume for a multi-thousand audience.

This is direct and unguarded blackmail. A vivid example of the Telegram administration’s inaction is the well-known “Whore Market” (in Russian called РШ рынок Шкур) channel, that has scammed over 250000 subscribers on bullying and blackmail, everyone knows about it, hundreds of complaints and requests were sent to the creators of Telegram and personally to Pavel Durov, but no action was taken . At this time, Pavel Durov is moving from country to country trying to hide from taxes.

2. Porn. To take revenge on their ex-girlfriends, young people send for publication intimate photos and videos of a sexual nature with their former halves to similar Telegram communities, where all of that is published in the public domain. This is real bullying that can lead to depression and suicide. At the same time, Pavel Durov is raising money for the TON

3. Teenage bullying. Violence in adolescent environments is increasing. Children beat and humiliate their peers in order to record it on video and put it on Telegram channels, collecting views and traffic. At this time, Pavel Durov becomes a billionaire on the Forbes list.

4. Telegram channels are the most common way to sell drugs over the Internet in the World. It is impossible to find owners or close channels without the assistance of the messenger administration. Therefore, law enforcement authorities detain only the final buyer: by fulfilling the detention plan, ignoring the real underground hiding behind anonymity in Telegram, the drug business is flourishing and becoming more accessible thanks to these Telegram channels. At this time, Pavel Durov is engaged in self-PR and is building the messiah of libertarianism for the Western public.

5. All these points are also valid for the dissemination and creation of child pornography, the pedophile lobby in Telegram feels as secure as possible. Using these messengers, they freely exchange prohibited content in the created anonymous chat rooms and Telegram channels and involve new children in this. The creators of Telegram and personally Pavel Durov at this time are engaged in calls not to be silent and fight for their rights. For the rights of pedophiles, apparently, too

6. Telegram channels have also established themselves as a convenient and safe platform for selling people, engaging in prostitution (including minors) and as a message board for intimate services around the world. You don’t have to go far, Telegram channels “Model Zone”, “Asset of Russia” (достояние России) and other easily found Telegram channels openly gain hundreds of thousands of subscribers, daily traffic and money for illegal activities: both pimping and assistance in this. Against this background, Pavel Durov is suing the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

All this and much more became possible due to the absence of any moderation and control by the creators of Telegram. There are no such concepts as technical support and support in Telegram's realities, volunteers who do not have the authority to block even prohibited content answer some basic questions and problems of users.

We urge Pavel Durov to pay attention to how his project is used and take measures: introduce moderation and complaints, support which will manually answer user questions about content, bullying and other prohibited things, as it is done in other social networks. Now, when Pavel Durov talks about freedom in Telegram, it means saving money on support and on internal moderation. It is simply missing. And if he personally does not care that his project is used for real crimes, blackmail, bullying, involving in prostitution then let those who collaborate with Pavel and invest in his projects pay attention to this.

According to the ECHR and other international legal norms, freedom of speech is not an absolute human right and should be limited if it threatens public safety and / or reputation or rights of others.