Telegram founder allegedly offered an easier time in court in exchange for censorship

Telegram founder Pavel Durov, who was arrested in France last year, has just claimed that French authorities asked him to censor certain Moldovan voices on the platform. This censorship would have been carried out during a time of parliamentary voting, had Durov complied with the demands.

The entrepreneur claims that French authorities told him that they would make his time in court easier if he did what they asked. To be precise, Durov was apparently told that the French intelligence would “say good things” about him to the judge. Durov says that he refused to take up the authorities on their offer, as it was “unacceptable”.



The French foreign ministry took to social media platform X to state that Durov had made similar accusations against France in the past. Durov previously claimed earlier this year that the French foreign intelligence agency had asked him to ban conservative voices on Telegram during election season in Romania.

These elections were being held after the Romanian courts invalidated the 2024 elections, where right-wing populist Călin Georgescu unexpectedly won. The courts claimed that Călin Georgescu’s campaign involved Russian interference.



If Durov’s claims are true, then he just gave up an easy ticket out of trouble by sticking to his principles. Telegram has long remained a very popular platform in countries where governments censor outside news, or certain beliefs. Durov's accusations also expose a deeply unsettling side of the French government, if any of it is true.

The French authorities have accused Durov of facilitating criminal activities on the platform, something that the entrepreneur has adamantly called a ridiculous allegation. After Durov’s arrest, Telegram skyrocketed in popularity, as hordes of people downloaded the app in a show of support for free speech and the founder’s commitment to freedom.

Personally, I don’t really agree with the accusations lobbied against Pavel Durov. Telegram is simply an encrypted messaging platform, and the founder of the app has no say about what people do in their group chats. These same accusations could just as easily be made against Discord, or private communities on Reddit.

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