Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov reiterated that he would never allow third parties to access user information, even stating he would "rather die" than compromise.
This statement was released on the anniversary of his arrest by French authorities last year. In August 2024, Durov was detained in France for four days and faced six charges, including "conspiracy to distribute child sexual abuse material" and "assisting drug trafficking." Prosecutors claimed that Telegram allowed illegal content to proliferate and refused to cooperate, but Durov denied all charges, considering the authorities' actions "absurd both legally and logically."
On Sunday, he posted a four-part statement on X, claiming his arrest for user behavior he had never been involved with was "unprecedented." He emphasized that the investigation has yet to prove any misconduct by him or Telegram, stating that the company's content moderation complies with industry standards and has responded to all legitimate requests from France.
Durov revealed that he still needs to return to France every 14 days and has no appeal date. He criticized the case for severely damaging France's image as a free country.
Durov has always considered user privacy as a bottom line. In 2014, he sold his VK shares and left Russia after refusing to hand over data of Ukrainian protest leaders to the Kremlin. Today, Telegram has about 1 billion active users and has become an important information platform during the Russia-Ukraine war, while also being criticized for not strictly deleting sensitive or illegal content.
French President Macron denied that the arrest was politically motivated, emphasizing the rule of law and civil liberties, but the encryption community and free speech organizations criticized the move as pressure on Durov to accept censorship. Durov stated that Telegram would not create a "backdoor" or hand over encryption keys, even if it means losing the market, as it would never compromise user privacy.
