Telegram creator vows to French court
Date
1/21/2025 6:45:03 AM
(MENAFN) Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, has vowed to enhance moderation efforts on the platform after appearing before a French court on Friday, Franceinfo reports. Durov, a Russian tech mogul who holds multiple citizenships, was arrested in Paris in August 2024 on charges related to illegal content on Telegram, including facilitating child pornography distribution and drug trafficking. He was later released on €5 million ($5.15 million) bail, with restrictions including regular check-ins with local Police and a ban on leaving France.
During his court appearance, Durov emphasized Telegram's commitment to improving its moderation systems. He revealed that the platform deletes between 15 and 20 million accounts each month for violating the law, and that accounts involved in child pornography are removed immediately. Durov also mentioned Telegram's collaboration with various organizations to fight child exploitation and stated that the platform has increased its cooperation with global authorities, providing user data from approximately 10,000 accounts over the last six months.
While the court noted that many of these initiatives were implemented after his arrest, Durov explained that he only became fully aware of the severity of the issues following the legal proceedings. He also highlighted changes made to Telegram’s privacy policy in September 2024, which allows for the collection and sharing of user metadata with authorities in cases of suspected illegal activity.
Durov's legal team has dismissed the charges against him, arguing that it is unfair to hold him accountable for crimes committed via Telegram. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also criticized the charges as baseless, comparing them to absurd claims that CEOs of car companies could be held responsible for terrorism due to their products' misuse.
The case comes amid growing concerns over censorship in the European Union, with Durov recently commenting that Russian Telegram users have more media freedom than their European counterparts.
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