Telegram CEO and Russian billionaire Pavel Durov has publicly responded to the accusations brought against him by French authorities, marking his first statement since his arrest last month.
The founder of Telegram, a social media platform with 950 million users globally, was detained upon arrival in France, where he was scheduled to attend a dinner hosted by President Emmanuel Macron.
Durov addressed the situation on his Telegram channel, where he expressed concerns over the handling of his arrest and the charges levied against him. He emphasized Telegram’s efforts to comply with European Union regulations, noting that the platform has a designated compliance officer responsible for EU matters. However, he criticized the broader practice of holding tech founders personally accountable for user behavior on their platforms, calling it a “misguided approach.”
He also questioned the necessity of his arrest, stating that French authorities had multiple avenues to contact him directly, given his status as a French citizen and frequent interactions with the French consulate in Dubai. Durov highlighted his previous cooperation with French officials to establish a communication channel with Telegram to address terrorism concerns in France.
“Building technology is hard enough as it is,” Durov said. “No innovator will ever build new tools if they know they can be personally held responsible for the potential abuse of those tools.”
Durov also discussed the challenges of balancing privacy and security, especially in the context of conflicting legal requirements between local and EU laws. He acknowledged the difficulties in reconciling these demands while maintaining the integrity of the platform.
Following his arrest on August 24, Durov was placed under judicial supervision and faces charges related to inadequate content moderation on Telegram, as well as accusations of facilitating terrorism and drug trafficking. As part of his legal restrictions, Durov is banned from leaving French territory and is required to check in with the police twice a week.
In his statement, Durov also shared that Telegram has now reached 950 million users, a significant increase from the previously reported 800 million. He expressed gratitude to the crypto community for their continued support during this challenging time.
