Telegram CEO Pavel Durov hits out at ‘misguided’ arrest

Tech founder says French authorities are putting innovation at risk in first public comments since his detention.

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has criticised French authorities for pursuing “misguided” criminal charges against him instead of approaching his company with their concerns in his first public comments since his arrest.

In a post on Telegram on Thursday, Durov said it was “surprising” to learn that he could be held personally responsible for illegal activities carried out by other people on his social media-cum-messaging platform.

“If a country is unhappy with an internet service, the established practice is to start a legal action against the service itself,” the Russian-born tech entrepreneur wrote.

“Using laws from the pre-smartphone era to charge a CEO with crimes committed by third parties on the platform he manages is a misguided approach.”

Durov said Telegram has an official representative in the European Union who uses a publicly available email address and that French authorities had “numerous ways” to reach him personally.

France’s handling of the case risks stifling innovation in tech, he said.

“Building technology is hard enough as it is,” he wrote. “No innovator will ever build new tools if they know they can be personally held responsible for potential abuse of those tools.”

Durov, a citizen of Russia, France, United Arab Emirates and Saint Kitts and Nevis, also hit out at suggestions that Telegram is an “anarchic paradise”.

“We take down millions of harmful posts and channels every day,” he wrote.

Still, Durov acknowledged that there are voices who argue Telegram’s efforts are “not enough”.

“Telegram’s abrupt increase in user count to 950 [million] caused growing pains that made it easier for criminals to abuse our platform,” he wrote.

“That’s why I made it my personal goal to ensure we significantly improve things in this regard. We’ve already started that process internally, and I will share more details on our progress with you very soon.”

French authorities arrested Durov last month as part of an investigation into criminal activity on Telegram and the platform’s alleged lack of cooperation with law enforcement.

Judicial authorities last week placed the 39-year-old tech founder under formal investigation on 12 charges, including providing cryptographic services to criminals and complicity in running an online platform that allows illicit transactions, images of child sex abuse, drug trafficking and fraud.

Durov’s arrest and indictment have reignited long-simmering debates about the balance between freedom of speech, privacy and policing harm online.

Tech founders and internet freedom advocates, including X owner Elon Musk and whistleblower Edward Snowden, have condemned the case, casting it as a threat to freedom of expression.

Russia has also voiced concern, challenging French authorities to provide “strong evidence” to justify the allegations.