Just for the context GUR is Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Agency. Practically like the CIA is in the US.
The relevant part, translated:
BBC: You recently spoke about Telegram being a problem for Ukraine.
Kyrylo Budanov: I can repeat that again for you. It is a huge problem.
BBC: And what can be done about it?
Kyrylo Budanov: Or, as they say, to put it in order - at least legally force everyone to register, so it is clear who is behind which media resource, and Telegram has already definitely acquired the status of media. There is no question of influence or pressure - the issue is not about that. If you want to promote your position - and it may not please someone and that is normal in a democratic society - take responsibility. What are you afraid to say who you are?
BBC: So you’re talking about anonymous Telegram channels?
Kyrylo Budanov: They are all anonymous. Do you know a single Telegram channel that openly said I am this person? That’s the answer.
BBC: Could their closure become a solution to this problem? Blocking?
Kyrylo Budanov: Temporarily yes, but I still believe they need to be forced to register. This will not be pressure on the press. In a democratic society, I say again, you cannot simply exert pressure…
Why am I even telling you this? You are a media representative. Would you be very happy if someone came to you and said: that’s it, from now on you write like this? Of course, that would be abnormal. But being afraid to say who you are is also wrong. And throwing anything into the ether on behalf of an anonymous person, excuse me, paid from completely different parts of the world is also abnormal.
“We’re not pressuring them, we are merely holding them accountable”
Why are people still using telegram anyway… Much better options out there
To be frank I have used it since it started way back and it continues to have the best user experience among messengers. I myself don’t use it for any crucial information but as a messenger with it’s featureset it’s second to none. When a better alternative pops up which will have a better UI and such an extensive featureset I will probably switch over
Excellent UI (WhatsApp keeps copying them, but they’re still ahead)
Open-source client
Good support for bots (very useful for group mods)
People always complain on Lemmy about Telegram and point at alternatives that are theoretically better in terms of security and privacy.
Yet the security and privacy on Lemmy are good enough that you routinely see governments complaining about how they can’t get at the info on Telegram like this story here, all while Telegram has a UI and experience that blows every competing messenger completely away.
I’m guessing that due to the small size of Lemmy and the political nature of this post, there might be a lot of visitors who aren’t aware of how bad Telegram is at protecting privacy.
From TechCrunch:
It shouldn’t have had that data available to begin with…
Because 90% of my contacts use Telegram
Piracy