Telegram founder Pavel Durov warned that the European Union’s new age-verification app could become a gateway to widespread online identity tracking after the European Commission said the system was technically ready to roll out. In a Telegram post, Durov cited security consultant Paul Moore’s analysis of the app’s design, which Moore said could be hacked ‘in under two minutes’ and manipulated so that an age check is not reliably tied to the real user or their device.
Moore told Durov the system’s weaknesses could lead to a major breach. Durov expanded that claim, arguing the flaws reach beyond simple age validation and could be used over time to justify broader identity checks across social media and other online services in Europe. His remarks echo wider worries as regulators in several jurisdictions consider similar age-verification schemes and as policymakers debate how to build secure, privacy-respecting digital identity infrastructure.
The European Commission published the first version of its age-verification blueprint in July 2025. The framework, developed as an open-source project, is intended to let people prove they are over 18 without revealing other personal details and to support future interoperability with European Digital Identity Wallets. EC President Ursula von der Leyen described the app as ‘completely anonymous’ and said users would be able to verify their age without being tracked or exposing personal information. Researchers’ claims that the system can be bypassed quickly have cast doubt on whether those privacy and security assurances will hold in practice.
Durov called the design ‘hackable by design’ and warned that EU officials could quietly repurpose a so-called privacy-respecting age check into a broader surveillance mechanism. Durov is a high-profile defender of free speech and digital privacy; he is also under judicial investigation in France over allegations related to illegal activity hosted on Telegram, including organized crime and fraud, and for the platform’s alleged lack of cooperation with authorities.
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