Telegram founder Pavel Durov has accused France of damaging its reputation as a free country through his 2024 arrest, calling the charges against him ‘absurd’ and highlighting procedural errors in the investigation. Durov, who was detained at Paris airport in August 2024 on charges of enabling illegal activities on his platform, was later released on bail and allowed to return to Dubai. He criticized the French authorities for bypassing EU legal procedures and claimed the arrest has harmed France’s standing as a free country.
In a post on Telegram on Sunday, Durov described his detention as ‘unprecedented’ and ‘legally and logically absurd.’ He said the investigation had produced no evidence of wrongdoing, stressing that Telegram’s moderation practices follow industry standards and that the company has complied with all legally binding requests from French authorities. Durov also claimed that French investigators bypassed EU-mandated legal channels when sending queries to the platform, a mistake he argued could have been avoided ‘simply by googling the process or asking.’
Durov further stated that the arrest has significantly damaged France’s image as a free country, and he must still return to Paris every two weeks with no appeal date in sight. In addition, Telegram has since updated its privacy policy to allow the collection of metadata, including IP addresses, device information, and username changes, for up to one year, with the option of handing it over to ‘relevant judicial authorities.’
Last month, Durov accused France of waging ‘a crusade’ against free speech, claiming that intelligence officials had tried to pressure him into censoring conservative content during Romania’s 2024 presidential election. The French intelligence agency, the DGSE, later said it had merely ‘reminded’ him of the responsibility to police content while denying election interference.