Durov
© Corbis/AOP.Press/Manuel BlondeauTelegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov
Brussels' mandatory ID‑checking software was reportedly hacked in just two minutes after its release, Pavel Durov has said.

The EU's newly unveiled age‑verification app is a "surveillance tool" disguised as a privacy‑respecting solution, Telegram founder Pavel Durov has warned. Security researchers were reportedly able to bypass its protections in under two minutes.

The app, which was presented by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday, is intended to let users prove their age online without revealing personal data. Von der Leyen called it "technically ready" and said it meets the "highest privacy standards."

But Durov has dismissed those claims, alleging that the app is "hackable by design" and is part of the EU's three‑step plan - to present a "privacy‑respecting" but vulnerable app, let it get hacked, then remove privacy features under the guise of fixing it.

"The EU bureaucrats needed an excuse to silently start turning their 'privacy‑respecting' age verification app into a surveillance mechanism over all Europeans," Durov said.

Security consultant Paul Moore, cited by Cybernews, confirmed the app's fundamental flaws and warned that it's only a matter of time before it becomes "the catalyst for an enormous breach." He noted that the app's security could be bypassed in under two minutes because it effectively trusts the device it runs on - a basic design error that leaves it wide open to manipulation.

The EU's push for mandatory age checks comes as several countries have adopted similar measures. Australia has already banned social media for under‑16s, while Denmark, France, Spain, Italy and Greece are jointly testing age‑verification tools. Germany has proposed a similar ban.

However, critics argue that these laws create centralized "honeypots" of personal data and increase surveillance risks. In the UK, a proposed digital ID scheme has already drawn fire, with opponents warning of a "police state."

Durov, who has long clashed with Western governments over free speech, has repeatedly warned that digital freedom is being eroded and that "a dark, dystopian world is approaching fast - while we're asleep."