The founder of messaging app, Telegram, came to Indonesia on business earlier in August after his app got partially blocked by the country last month. But the business call wasn’t all tech talk: Russian entrepreneur Pavel Durov apparently managed to mix some fun in during his trip, with a visit to Bali, as we can see from photos later posted to his Instagram account.
First posting a pic of magic hour at Jimbaran’s Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park on August 8, Durov kicked off a series of Bali photos where he seems pretty happy with his trip.
Photos also include a sharp portrait of a pensive-looking Durov on a cliff, overlooking the sea, another sculpture at GWK, and an ab-centric shot of the entrepreneur in Ubud, that he says was inspired by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Before his Bali getaway, Durov met with Indonesia’s Minster of Communications and Information Technology on Aug. 1, resulting in an announcement made by Minster Rudiantara: “We have agreed to keep Telegram accessible.”
In Jakarta, meeting with local teams brainstorming ways how to eradicate ISIS propaganda more efficiently.
— Pavel Durov (@durov) August 1, 2017
Indonesia only made the concession, lifting the partial ban on the app after Telegram improved measures to block channels allowing for terrorist networks to communicate.
The wildly popular app, with over 100 million monthly active users recorded last year and at least 20,000 daily users in Indonesia, is known for its enhanced security features, including unbreakable end-to-end encryption, secret chat rooms, and self-destructing messages. Features, which unfortunately, have allowed Telegram to become the choice app for terrorists sharing propaganda, giving bomb-building tutorials, and coordinating attacks, particularly for ISIS, security analysts suspect.
In July, the ministry had Indonesian internet service providers to block access to 11 addresses offering the web version of Telegram and was ready to fully ban it unless the app put procedures in place to quickly shut down discussion groups from ISIS supporters.
To appease the Indonesian government, Durov pledged that the app would make a direct channel where Indonesian officials could hire a team of Indonesian-speaking moderators to scan for terror-related content.
The app’s encryption, however, would not be tampered with, said Durov.
“The basis of Telegram is a 100 per cent promise of encryption. This is why our company exists,” he said, as quoted by The Australian.
“We’ve discussed ways to block the public channels available for the propaganda of terrorism, which is something that we are committed to do globally, and particularly in Indonesia.”
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