Sequoia Capital Partner: Telegram plays an important role in many pro-democracy protests

Odaily Odaily News: Sequoia Capital partner Shaun Maguire posted on the X platform that Telegram founder Pavel Durov was arrested in France on August 25. Although there are some controversies about the Telegram platform, Durov should be regarded as a hero rather than a villain. He pointed out that Durov's original intention in creating Telegram was to resist authoritarian governments and enable citizens to communicate across borders and regimes. Maguire also mentioned that Telegram has played an important role in many pro-democracy protests in the past decade. The French government has filed 12 charges against Durov, but Maguire believes that these charges could be directed at any social media platform. He called for attention to the matter, believing that it concerns the future of Western liberal values, and hoped that French President Macron would intervene in the matter.