Telegram CEO Pavel Durov calls indictment ‘surprising’ and ‘wrong’

Discreet and mysterious, the founder and boss of the Telegram messaging service, Pavel Durov, has finally spoken out since his arrest and indictment in France due to the publication of illegal content on his platform.

In a long message published on Telegram on Thursday, September 5, Mr. Durov finds “surprising” to be held responsible for content posted by other people. “Using pre-smartphone laws to charge a CEO with crimes committed by third parties on the platform he manages is a misguided approach.”he wrote.

The 39-year-old billionaire was arrested on August 24 at Le Bourget airport near Paris and was released from custody the following Wednesday. He faces numerous charges for his refusal to moderate the Telegram messaging service, which he estimates has 950 million users worldwide.

In his message, Mr. Durov denounces the claims that “Telegram is a kind of anarchic paradise”calling them“absolutely false”. “We remove millions of harmful messages and channels every day”he insists.

He also refutes France’s accusations that Paris had not received any responses from Telegram to its requests. He claims that he personally helped French authorities to “establish a telephone hotline with Telegram to deal with the terrorist threat in France”.

Telegram ready ‘to leave this country’

Adopting a more conciliatory tone at the end of his message, Mr Durov acknowledges that the sharp increase in the number of Telegram users has generated a situation that has “made it easier for criminals to abuse our platform”. “That’s why I’ve made it my personal goal to ensure that we make significant improvements in this regard.”he said, adding that the issue was being analyzed “internally” and that further details would be communicated in the future.

“I hope that the events of August will allow Telegram – and the social media industry as a whole – to become safer and stronger.”says Mr Durov, adding that if Telegram fails to reach an agreement with local regulators on the “good balance between privacy and security” SO “we would be ready to leave this country”.

Released after four days in police custody, Pavel Durov is subject to a heavy judicial review, providing for a bail of 5 million euros, a check-in at the police station twice a week and a ban on leaving French territory. Based in Dubai, he obtained the nationality of the United Arab Emirates and then that of the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts and Nevis, before adding, in August 2021, French citizenship thanks to a rare procedure on which Paris remains very discreet.

The President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, had nevertheless declared “fully assume” this naturalization, within the framework of a “fully assumed strategy”concerning personalities who “make the effort to learn the French language” And “shine in the world”.

In Moscow, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that these proceedings against a “Russian citizen” should not “turn into political persecution”.

Edward Snowden and Elon Musk in support

According to a source close to the case, Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolai, co-founders of Telegram, have been the subject of search warrants issued by the French justice system since March as part of a preliminary investigation.

Notable supporters of the businessman include Russian-based American whistleblower Edward Snowden and tech mogul Elon Musk, who has posted under the hashtag #FreePavel.

Founded in 2013, the Telegram messaging service, which has always claimed to respect European laws, has promised never to reveal information about its users. A second investigation has also been opened against Mr. Durov for “serious violence” committed in Paris on one of his sons born in 2017.