The founder of Telegram has been barred from leaving France.
Telegram, the popular social media platform, has announced that it will implement a new approach to content moderation by the end of this year, aiming to remove features that have been misused for illegal activities. This was confirmed by Pavel Durov, the platform’s founder and CEO, on Friday. Durov is facing preliminary charges in France for allegedly allowing criminal activities to occur on Telegram, according to a Reuters.
“While 99.999% of Telegram users are not involved in any criminal activities, the 0.001% who are engaging in illegal acts give the platform a bad reputation and jeopardize the interests of nearly a billion users,” Durov stated on Telegram.
Durov Criticizes French Authorities
In a post on Thursday, Durov criticized French authorities for arresting and charging him in August over claims that Telegram facilitated the distribution of extremist and unlawful content. This marked his first public statement since the incident, where he expressed surprise at being personally held accountable for content shared by others. He emphasized that French authorities should have directed their complaints to the company rather than detaining him.
Durov was detained at a Paris airport in late August after arriving by private jet from Azerbaijan. French officials later confirmed that he was under investigation for crimes linked to activities on Telegram, including fraud, money laundering, child pornography, and more.
After spending four days in custody, Durov was released on bail set at €5 million. He is still subject to restrictions, including a travel ban from leaving France and a requirement to report to a police station twice a week as the investigation continues.
The 39-year-old Durov was born in Russia but left the country in 2014. He claims this decision was due to his refusal to comply with demands from the Kremlin to shut down opposition groups on his former social network, VKontakte. Following this, he sold the platform and moved abroad, eventually settling in Dubai. Media reports indicate that Durov obtained French and UAE citizenship in 2021.
Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Telegram has become a key source of unfiltered — and sometimes misleading — information from both sides of the conflict, as reported by Reuters.
Telegram’s commitment to stronger content moderation signals a shift in how the platform handles illegal activities. With increased scrutiny from governments, Durov and his team will need to find a balance between protecting free speech and ensuring that Telegram is not used as a tool for criminal purposes. Whether the upcoming changes will satisfy legal authorities remains to be seen, but it marks a critical moment for the platform and its nearly one billion users worldwide.
