Durov claims France waging ‘crusade’ against free speech, tech progress
(MENAFN) Telegram founder Pavel Durov has accused France of waging a “crusade” against free speech and technological progress following the launch of a criminal investigation into Elon Musk’s social media platform X. Durov urged French authorities to engage in dialogue with tech companies rather than resorting to prosecutions, warning that such actions by “French bureaucrats” could deter investment and harm the country’s economic growth for years to come.
The probe into X was opened after complaints from a French lawmaker and a government cybersecurity official, who accused the platform of manipulating algorithms to interfere in French democracy. Elon Musk has yet to respond to the investigation.
Durov criticized the prosecutors behind the case as motivated by political ambitions or careerism, arguing that these issues should be addressed through regulation and cooperation with tech leaders rather than criminal investigations.
The Telegram CEO is no stranger to legal troubles in France himself. In August 2024, he was arrested on charges of complicity in crimes allegedly committed by Telegram users, including extremism and child abuse. Released on €5 million bail, he remains under judicial supervision.
Following his arrest, Telegram updated its privacy policy to allow the collection of user metadata for up to one year, which may be shared with judicial authorities if required. Durov and his lawyer have dismissed the charges as unfounded and “totally absurd.”
Durov has also criticized the European Union for increasing censorship and media restrictions, claiming that the bloc imposes more controls than even Russia, especially after several major Russian news channels were blocked on Telegram within the EU.
In May, Durov announced a partnership with Musk’s AI startup xAI to integrate the Grok chatbot into Telegram. Musk praised Durov for resisting French government requests to censor conservative political content on the platform.
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