Telegram founder Pavel Durov says France has brought more than ten charges against him, each carrying a sentence of up to ten years in prison. He tied the episode to the broader social-media policy of the EU and Britain, describing it as a campaign against digital rights dressed up as concern for children.
The trigger for Durov's remarks was the U.S. Justice Department's refusal to assist a French investigation into Elon Musk's social network X. Durov called the case politically motivated and noted that he is the subject of a similar proceeding. "Proud to stand alongside Elon Musk and others," he wrote.
The Telegram founder considers France's prosecutors anything but independent. As he put it, "prosecutors are hired, fired and promoted by the government," while the judicial police answer to the executive. "France loses its legitimacy when it uses criminal investigations to suppress free speech and privacy," Durov said.
He described his own case as part of a broader pattern of pressure on platforms. "This is how the EU/UK now regulate social media: they offer CEOs secret deals to censor dissent, and if they refuse, they open criminal cases against them. When people push back, they're told it's 'all for the children,'" he wrote. "Child protection," in his telling, has become the standard legal and PR cover.
Durov's remarks come against the backdrop of recent moves by European authorities. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has already backed a ban on addictive features in social media, along with discussion of a possible ban on social networks for children under 16. At nearly the same moment, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that an EU-wide age verification app is ready for deployment, urging the bloc's member states to adopt a unified approach. It is precisely these measures that Durov places under the heading of "cover."