These billionaires who play with freedom of expression

One after the other, the French and Brazilian judicial authorities have engaged in an unprecedented standoff with the Internet giants in recent weeks.

On August 29, a few days after Pavel Durov was arrested on the tarmac at Le Bourget airport, the French justice system placed the head of Telegram, an instant messaging service used by nearly a billion people worldwide, under judicial supervision. On August 31, in Brasilia, the judge of the Supreme Federal Court, Alexandre de Moraes, announced the suspension, throughout Brazil, of the global network X (formerly Twitter), owned by billionaire Elon Musk.

What do these court decisions have in common? Their bosses. Or more precisely, their philosophy: libertarianism. Born in the mid-20th century in the United States and very widespread in Silicon Valley, the cradle of Tech, this school of thought appears to be the radical extension of liberalism. Libertarians oppose state interventionism; they glorify private property as well as the market in its most unbridled form, and defend the total guarantee of individual freedoms, including freedom of expression. Not to be confused with libertarians from anarchism, who oppose private property.

The two digital magnates, Pavel Durov and Elon Musk, are carrying their principles as a banner on their social networks. Even if it means going against the laws of the countries in which they operate. In France, the Paris prosecutor’s office has indicted Pavel Durov, who has multiple nationalities: Russian, French, Emirati and Caribbean – that of the island of Saint Kitts and Nevis, a tax haven. It accuses him of his lack of moderation of illegal content on his messaging and “an almost total absence of responses to legal requests”. The billionaire allows content ranging from child pornography to terrorism, including online hatred and cyberbullying. All in the name of preserving the individual freedoms of his users.

Having observed for years that criminal groups were using Telegram to communicate in complete tranquility, the French justice system has finally reacted. Durov is facing twelve charges, including complicity in child pornography, drug trafficking and organized fraud.

Drifts and assets

But it’s not all that simple, because as a good content host, Durov can argue that he certainly has access to the texts and videos that are exchanged on his platform, but that he is not responsible for them. In addition, the “bad guy” also has good sides: Telegram is a fortress that preserves “the right to correspondence and private communications, underlines Fabrice Epelboin, a teacher specializing in digital technology.

The authorities are focusing on the crime that is developing there, while this messaging service also provides a refuge for political opponents and activists repressed in their country.” In 2014, Pavel Durov left Russia in a big way after refusing to provide the personal data of Ukrainians involved in the Maidan revolution. And in 2018, Iran banned Telegram, the network having refused to provide it with information on demonstrators and political opponents. What the French justice system decides “will be a landmark in the digital age and will set the tone in other countries,” believes Julien Nocetti, associate researcher at the French Institute of International Relations.

A worrying laissez-faire attitude

What does Elon Musk think? Badly, obviously. He called for support for the Russian billionaire and to “fight for freedom.” Two years ago, when he bought the social network Twitter for $44 billion, this fervent supporter of Donald Trump emphasized his commitment to total freedom of expression, which he called “the foundation of a functioning democracy.”

Today, moderation of hateful and false content has almost disappeared from the platform with 335 million subscribers. The Brazilian justice system is criticizing the head of Tesla and SpaceX for his lack of collaboration in the investigation into the assault on places of power by supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro in 2023. As well as his refusal to close accounts suspected of spreading false information. For Elon Musk, who denounces “political censorship”, this is just another confrontation between his unbridled conception of online expression and the legislation of the countries where his company operates. Since December 2023, the European Union has also been investigating his social network, criticizing it for its lack of regulation. Last August, Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner for Digital Affairs, sent a letter to the billionaire to warn him of possible sanctions. Elon Musk responded on his X network with a filthy formula leaving no doubt about his lack of consideration for the senior official… and the rules of the European Union.