Telegram’s Durov Calls out French ‘Manipulation’ Over Censorship Demand

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Telegram’s Durov vs. French Intelligence: A Comedy of Errors! 😂

Oh, what a delightful kerfuffle! Telegram, that cheeky little app, has thrown a tantrum over the French intelligence’s audacious attempt to play puppet master! 🎭

Telegram Refuses to Be Europe’s Political Weapon

On a rather sunny day, May 19 to be precise, our brave hero Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, spilled the beans about a rather peculiar rendezvous. French spies, yes, you heard it right, those dashing agents in their trench coats, wanted him to hush up conservative voices during Romania’s presidential election! Can you imagine? At the posh Salon des Batailles in the Hôtel de Crillon, where the croissants are as flaky as their requests, Nicolas Lerner, the head honcho of France’s Directorate General for External Security (DGSE), made his grand appeal. But Durov, with a twinkle in his eye, said:

I refused. We didn’t block protesters in Russia, Belarus, or Iran. We won’t start doing it in Europe.

Oh, the audacity! He then added, “You can’t ‘defend democracy’ by destroying democracy. You can’t ‘fight election interference’ by interfering with elections.” Bravo, Durov! 👏

But wait, there’s more! Durov had a little tête-à-tête about the true purpose of this clandestine meeting. “French foreign intelligence confirmed they met with me — allegedly to fight terrorism and child porn. But guess what? Child porn was never even mentioned! They were more interested in geopolitics: Romania, Moldova, Ukraine. Classic misdirection!”

He proudly boasted about Telegram’s valiant efforts against abuse on the platform, declaring: “Since 2018, we’ve been on a crusade against child abuse with content fingerprint bans, dedicated moderation teams, NGO hotlines, and daily transparency reports on banned content — all verifiable! To suggest we did nothing is just a cheeky manipulation tactic!”

Now, here’s where it gets juicy! Durov found himself in a bit of a pickle when French authorities detained him at Le Bourget Airport in August 2024. Twelve charges, including complicity in child exploitation and drug trafficking, were thrown at him like confetti at a parade! 🎉 He was released under judicial supervision, with a travel ban and mandatory police check-ins. Talk about a holiday gone wrong! In March 2025, a judge finally let him out of the French clutches for a little jaunt.

But the French officials, in a classic case of “not us,” denied Durov’s account. According to AFP, the DGSE admitted to contacting Durov multiple times about Telegram’s role in combating terrorism and illegal content but scoffed at the idea of influencing elections. The French Foreign Ministry even posted a screenshot of Durov’s remarks stamped with the word “faux” — oh la la! The public fallout is like a soap opera, highlighting the growing friction between encrypted platforms and European intelligence services over control, surveillance, and political content. 🍿

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2025-05-20 07:04