📱 Axios PM: Telegram's red flags

Plus: Comedy secrets | Monday, August 26, 2024

Open in app View in browser   Axios PM By Mike Allen · Aug 26, 2024 Good afternoon. Today's newsletter, edited by Sam Baker, is 513 words, a 2-min. read. Thanks to Sheryl Miller for copy editing.     1 big thing: Telegram's red flags   Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios. Photo: Bloomberg/Getty Images   French authorities said they arrested Telegram founder Pavel Durov as part of an investigation into illegal activity on the platform, potentially including the distribution of child pornography and drugs, as well as money laundering. He has not been charged. 🗣️ Zoom out: Telegram is the closest thing there is to a real example of a "free speech absolutist" platform online — and Durov's arrest has already become a flashpoint in the legal and cultural debate over whether social media companies can or should be held liable for what their users post. Telegram is a critical communications tool for the Ukrainian military, and Russia has tried to ban it. Durov fled from his native Russia in 2014 amid a separate information crackdown. But the app was also a preferred communications tool for ISIS, and law enforcement agencies have said for years that its hands-off approach has allowed child pornography, money laundering, terrorist organizing and other highly illegal activity to thrive. ⚖️ The company has said it complies with the laws of every country in which it operates. But some cybersecurity experts have argued that both its CEO and its back-end logistics make it far less helpful in criminal investigations than other platforms. 🇫🇷 What's next: French authorities have until Wednesday to decide whether they'll charge Durov with a crime.     2. 🎤 Harris doesn't want debate mics muted   Vice President Harris, seen during a debate in 2020, and former President Trump, seen during his debate with President Biden in June. Photos: AP The presidential campaigns are fighting over whether mics at a Sept. 10 debate should be muted when it's not a candidate's turn to speak, as was the rule for the CNN debate in June. 🔇 The Biden campaign insisted on muted microphones for the debates it agreed to. But some advisers now regret making it impossible for former President Trump to interject, AP reports. 🔊 The Harris campaign now wants both candidates' microphones to be live the whole time, while the Trump campaign says the original terms should remain in place. Go deeper.     3. Catch me up   Former President Trump looks on as former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard speaks at a conference of the National Guard Association today in Detroit. Photo: Carolyn Kaster/AP 🗳️ Former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard endorsed former President Trump for president. Go deeper. 🦞 Red Lobster's next CEO will likely be Damola Adamolekun, a former CEO of P.F. Chang's, The Wall Street Journal reports. The casual-dining chain filed for bankruptcy earlier this year and is being run by a group of lenders. 🏈 The NFL has changed the rules for kickoffs and banned hip-drop tackles, among other rule changes, for the upcoming season. Go deeper.     4. 🤫 Secret stand-up   Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios   The next generation of comedy stars is getting exposure in an unconventional way — by doing stand-up shows in backyards and other offbeat venues that are kept secret until the last minute, Axios' Maxwell Millington reports. 🎤 Don't Tell Comedy, founded in 2017, creates pop-up comedy shows in places like candy stores, rock climbing gyms or even a luxury suite at a baseball stadium. When you buy a ticket, the only information provided is the date, time and city. The specific location is revealed a few hours before showtime. The company says it's on pace to host over 4,500 shows in 200 cities this year.   Are you a fan of this email format? Your essential communications — to staff, clients and other stakeholders — can have the same style. Axios HQ, a powerful platform, will help you do it.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Advertise with us. Axios, PO Box 101060, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. To stop receiving this newsletter, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: