Pavel Durov, founder of the social media platform Telegram, has criticized French authorities over his arrest in August.
The investigation is ongoing, but Durov contends that France’s justice department should have contacted his company directly rather than detain him.
In a statement on his personal Telegram channel, Durov claimed he was informed he might be personally responsible for others’ illegal use of Telegram because French authorities had not received responses from the company.
Durov described this as “surprising for several reasons.”
He emphasized that Telegram has an official EU representative who handles requests through a publicly available email address.
Furthermore, he noted his previous collaboration with the French consulate in Dubai to set up a Telegram hotline for addressing terrorism threats.
He criticized the French approach, saying, “If a country is unhappy with an internet service, the established practice is to initiate legal action against the service itself.
Using pre-smartphone era laws to charge a CEO with crimes committed by third parties on the platform is a misguided approach.”
Durov added, “Building technology is challenging enough.
No innovator will develop new tools if they risk being personally held responsible for potential misuse of those tools.”
He acknowledged the difficulty of balancing privacy and security, noting that it requires navigating complex laws, regulations, and technological constraints through open dialogue.
Regarding Telegram’s stance on Iran and Russia, Durov said, “We aim to promote good and defend basic rights, especially where they are violated.”
He asserted that Telegram works hard to regulate and moderate its platform, despite some claims in the media.
Durov also addressed the platform’s recent growth, stating that an abrupt increase in user count to 950 million has led to growing pains and made it easier for criminals to exploit Telegram.
He committed to addressing these issues and improving the platform’s operations.
Durov, who is also a French national, was arrested in late August in connection with an investigation into alleged child pornography, drug trafficking, and fraudulent transactions involving the app.
