Telegram CEO Pledges Platform Overhaul Amid French Legal Troubles
In the wake of his recent arrest in France, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has broken his silence, addressing the messaging app’s content moderation challenges and promising significant improvements. The Russian-born entrepreneur, who also holds French citizenship, was detained at a Paris airport in late August and is currently under investigation for alleged crimes related to illegal content on the platform.
In his first public statement since the incident, Durov defended Telegram against accusations of being an “anarchic paradise” while acknowledging the platform’s rapid growth has created opportunities for abuse. “Telegram’s abrupt increase in user count to 950M caused growing pains that made it easier for criminals to abuse our platform,” Durov wrote on his Telegram channel.
The CEO expressed surprise at his arrest, stating that French authorities had multiple ways to reach him, including through the French consulate in Dubai where he frequently visited. He emphasized that Telegram has an official EU representative to handle law enforcement requests and criticized the approach of holding executives personally accountable for user-generated content.
“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 argued. He warned that such actions could stifle innovation, as “no innovator will ever build new tools if they know they can be personally held responsible for potential abuse of those tools.”
Despite his objections to the legal proceedings, Durov announced plans to enhance Telegram’s content moderation efforts. The platform has already disabled new media uploads to its blogging tool and removed the “People Nearby” feature, which had been criticized for potential misuse by scammers and bots.
Telegram also quietly updated its FAQ page, removing language that previously stated the platform does not process requests related to private chats. However, this change has sparked confusion, as similar language remains in other sections of the FAQ.
Durov stressed Telegram’s commitment to user privacy and freedom of expression, citing past instances where the app chose to exit markets rather than comply with government demands for surveillance or censorship. “We are prepared to leave markets that aren’t compatible with our principles, because we are not doing this for money,” he stated.
The Telegram founder’s arrest has ignited a broader debate about platform responsibility and free speech online. Some tech industry figures, including Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski, have criticized the French authorities’ actions as a threat to internet freedom.
As Durov faces ongoing legal challenges in France, including potential charges of money laundering and providing unlicensed cryptology services, the tech community watches closely. The outcome of this case could have far-reaching implications for how messaging platforms operate and are regulated globally.
