Telegram CEO in custody lashes out at France

Telegram's CEO resists French accusations - with a warning. Pavel Durov is being held in France.

Pavel Durov, Telegram's CEO, speaks out for the first time since his arrest in France.

In a Telegram message, he shares his thoughts on the steps taken against him. "The claims in some media that Telegram is some kind of anarchic paradise are completely untrue," Durov said. "We delete millions of harmful messages and channels every day."

However, he admitted that moderation on such a rapidly growing platform is a difficult task, and that they still want to improve in this. Another lie: the French had no way to reach him. "Telegram has an official representative in the EU who accepts and answers requests from the EU."

At the end, he issued a warning: "No innovator will ever build new things if he knows he will be held personally responsible for their misuse."

He also mentioned that Telegram is willing to leave countries if it does not agree with the policy, as has happened in Russia or Iran, for example: "We are not here to make money."

Pavel Durov is the CEO of Telegram. He was arrested in France on August 25, 2024. He is now free on bail, but he must remain in the country and report regularly to the police.

French authorities accuse him of lack of cooperation and complicity in various crimes organized through his platform, such as drug trafficking, terrorism or child abuse.

Telegram is one of the largest social networks in the world with nearly a billion users worldwide.