Pavel Durov Says French Case Against Him “Going Nowhere”

[Hypedyor]

Telegram founder Pavel Durov has blasted French authorities over what he calls a baseless case against him, one year after his arrest in August 2024. Durov described the proceedings as “unprecedented,” arguing that holding a tech executive responsible for independent user actions is “legally and logically absurd.”
 

Despite frequent summons to France every 14 days, he says investigators have yet to find any wrongdoing by him or Telegram. He emphasized that the platform complies with all legally binding requests and aligns with industry moderation standards. The arrest sparked outrage across the crypto community, human rights organizations, and free speech advocates, who accused France of attempting to pressure Telegram into censorship. President Emmanuel Macron rejected claims of political motivation, but criticism continues to mount. Durov insists Telegram will never compromise its principles by providing encryption keys or backdoors, stating the platform will leave jurisdictions rather than enable censorship.