Russian authorities have launched a criminal investigation into Pavel Durov, CEO of Telegram, over alleged facilitation of terrorist activities.
Officials claim Telegram failed to remove nearly 155,000 channels, chats and bots flagged for illegal or harmful content, including over 104,000 spreading false information, 10,598 promoting extremism, 4,168 justifying extremist activity and 3,771 linked to drugs.
Former Kremlin internet adviser German Klimenko warned the probe could result in Telegram being officially designated an extremist organization, potentially criminalizing payments for subscriptions and platform advertising.
Durov accused Russian authorities of targeting Telegram to push a state-backed messaging app, MAX, claiming the pressure is meant to drive users away from Telegram while noting similar strategies in other countries, such as Iran, have failed.
Durov emphasized on X (formerly Twitter) and Telegram that the investigation represents an attempt to restrict privacy and free speech, asserting that Telegram remains committed to user freedom despite escalating regulatory pressure in Russia.
Russian authorities have opened a criminal investigation into Pavel Durov, the co-founder and chief executive of Telegram, due to alleged facilitation of terrorist activities.
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