Telegram Founder Criticizes French Authorities Amid Legal Probe

Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, criticized French authorities for detaining him and urged them to have approached his company directly. Durov denied claims that Telegram is an 'anarchic paradise,' and emphasized that the platform takes down millions of harmful posts daily. The legal probe concerns child pornography, drug trafficking, and fraud.

Pavel Durov, the founder of the Telegram messaging app, criticized French authorities for targeting him rather than addressing their concerns directly with the company. Durov, in his first public comments since his detention last month, denied that Telegram is an 'anarchic paradise' and highlighted that French authorities had a 'hot line' to contact the app's EU representative at any time.

'If a country is unhappy with an Internet service, the established practice is to start a legal action against the service itself,' Durov stated. He condemned the reliance on outdated laws to charge CEOs for crimes committed by third parties on their platforms.

Durov, who became a French national after being born in Russia, was detained in connection with an investigation into crimes related to child pornography, drug trafficking, and fraudulent activities associated with Telegram. He emphasized that the app actively removes millions of harmful posts daily.

(With inputs from agencies.)