Telegram Founder Pavel Durov Speaks Out First Time After Arrest

Key Points:

• Telegram founder Pavel Durov denied allegations of enabling illegal activities on the platform after his recent arrest in France.
• Durov faces multiple charges in France, is under judicial supervision, and cannot leave the country.

Telegram founder Pavel Durov has publicly responded to his recent arrest, which occurred in France, by taking to Telegram to address the situation.

Read more: Telegram Founder Pavel Durov Now Released on €5 Million Bail 

Telegram Founder Pavel Durov Denies All French Charges of Abusing the Platform

In the broader investigation into cybercrime, French authorities held for four days Telegram founder Pavel Durov, the Franco-Russian billionaire. He was accused of complicity in illegal activities such as child pornography and drug trafficking through the encrypted services of Telegram.

In a post, Durov vehemently denied the allegations, contending it was not fair to blame the authorities when there is some third-party misuse. He then went ahead to attack old regulations for targeting CEOs over the actions of their users as a “misguided approach.”

Legal Troubles Continue for Telegram CEO in France

Durov emphasized Telegram’s efforts to balance privacy and security, pointing to the platform’s removal of harmful content and collaboration with NGOs for urgent cases. He knows much more is to be done in improving moderation, especially considering how the user base at Telegram keeps on growing very fast.

The tech entrepreneur outlined that Telegram was ready to leave markets that compromised its principles and referred to the previous bans in Russia and Iran based on government demands that clashed with the principles of the platform. Durov was very surprised by such actions from the French authorities, noting that Telegram has a representative in the EU and open communication channels.

After Durov’s statements, the price of the platform’s TON cryptocurrency leapt more than 5%. It is proper to mention that, in France, Durov has remained under judicial supervision against several charges and is forbidden from travelling to other countries.