French authorities have charged the tech mogul with multiple offenses related to crimes committed via his platform
Telegram founder Pavel Durov has pledged to strengthen “moderation efforts” on his social media platform, speaking before a French court on Friday, according to the radio network Franceinfo.
The Russian tech mogul, who also holds citizenship in France, the UAE, and the Caribbean island nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, was arrested in Paris in August 2024. French authorities charged him with over a dozen offenses related to illegal content on Telegram, including complicity in the distribution of child pornography and enabling drug trafficking, among other allegations.
Durov was eventually released on bail of €5 million ($5.15 million) but was prohibited from leaving France and required to report to local police twice a week.
During Friday’s hearing, Durov told the court that Telegram is committed to “improving its moderation procedures,” Franceinfo reported. He explained that the platform deletes “between 15 and 20 million user accounts for breaking the law” each month and argued that Telegram is not alone in facing these challenges.
Any accounts found distributing child pornography are removed “the same day,” he said. He also noted that Telegram collaborates with multiple organizations fighting child exploitation.
When the judges pointed out that many of these moderation initiatives were launched after his August arrest, Durov said that only at that point he was made “aware of the seriousness of all these facts.”
Durov further stated that Telegram has increased cooperation with authorities worldwide to combat illegal activity. Over the past six months, the platform has provided user data from approximately 10,000 accounts to law enforcement agencies globally.
In September 2024, the encrypted messaging service updated its privacy policy to permit the collection of metadata, such as IP addresses, device information, and username changes, for up to one year. According to the policy, this data can be shared with “relevant judicial authorities” if a user is suspected of engaging in illicit activities.
Durov’s legal team has dismissed the charges against him as unfounded, arguing that it is unreasonable to hold him accountable for crimes committed through the platform.
Commenting on Durov’s arrest, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov similarly criticized the charges, describing them as absurd. He remarked that, by the same logic, Paris could detain the CEOs of Renault or Citroën because terrorists have used their cars.
Late last year, Telegram channels of multiple major Russian news outlets were rendered inaccessible across the EU, with Durov noting that the bloc imposes more censorship and media restrictions than Russia does.
