Messaging app Telegram has stated that it fully complies with European Union laws and that its content moderation practices are within industry standards.
Telegram's Statement
Telegram asserts that it abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act, and that its moderation practices are within industry norms and constantly improving. “Telegram abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act – its moderation is within industry standards and constantly improving,” the company said in a statement. “Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe.”
Pavel Durov's Arrest
The statement comes a day after its CEO was arrested at a French airport by local authorities. Durov’s arrest resulted from a criminal complaint focused on the platform’s moderation practices, which French law enforcement deems insufficient. While a formal charge sheet has yet to be published, early media reports indicate that prosecutors are holding Durov and Telegram accountable for criminal acts organized or published on the platform. “It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform,” Telegram said in a published statement.
Community Reaction
The Russian embassy in France also released a statement: “After news appeared in the media about the detention of P.V. Durov, we immediately requested clarification from the French authorities regarding the reasons and demanded the protection of his rights and the provision of consular access. As of today, the French side has so far avoided cooperation on this issue.” In its statement, Telegram linked to a March 2024 post by Durov, predicting that the company would face challenges in its growth due to moderation practices. “All large social media apps are easy targets for criticism due to the content they host. I can’t recall any major social platform whose moderation has been consistently praised by traditional media,” he wrote at the time. “The media coverage of Meta’s moderation efforts has been particularly negative for most of its history. Interestingly enough, Meta was also the first social media company to have reached a trillion-dollar-plus valuation,” he continued. “Telegram will likely have to go through similar growth stages before it surpasses legacy platforms.”
Many in the crypto community have expressed support for Pavel Durov, with Tron’s Justin Sun offering to donate $1 million to a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) dedicated to working towards Durov’s release if it’s created in a decentralized way with enough community support.
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