Telegram-Gründer zerreißt Klage als haltlos – und feuert gegen französische Regierung

Pavel Durov lässt nicht locker: Der Telegram-Chef bezeichnet die jüngsten juristischen Schritte aus Frankreich als substanzlose Schikane – und legt sich dabei direkt mit der Regierung an.

Warum jetzt? Die Vorwürfe aus Paris kommen genau zu einem Zeitpunkt, an dem Telegram weiterhin als Krypto-Hotspot für Token-Listings und Community-Bildung boomt. Ein Zufall? Wohl kaum.

Durov kontert scharf: Statt sich defensiv zu verhalten, geht der Tech-Unternehmer in die Offensive. Seine Botschaft: Hier geht es nicht um Recht, sondern um politisches Machtgefüge – und vielleicht auch darum, wer die Kontrolle über die nächste Welle dezentraler Finanznetzwerke hat.

Frankreichs Regierung hingegen beharrt auf ihrem Kurs. Man wolle Klarheit – und zwar nach eigenen Regeln. Typisch Beamtenmentalität: erst regulieren, dann kaputtverwalten.

Fazit: Ein klassischer Clash zwischen alter Macht und neuer Technologie – und ein weiterer Beweis, dass Innovation niemals um Erlaubnis bittet.

Durov pushes back as France intensifies scrutiny over Telegram’s content moderation

The crypto community has widely condemned the Telegram CEO’s arrest. Human rights activists and free speech campaigners have also accused the French government of forcing him to censor Telegram. 

Durov was then charged and initially stopped from exiting France, while investigators probed the platform’s content moderation rules, accusing it of featuring harmful content.

Last year, French President Emmanuel Macron dismissed allegations of political motivation in the arrest when he said in an August 26 X post that freedoms must be protected “within a legal framework” to guarantee citizens and their rights. His comments drew backlash, including Helius CEO Mert Mumtaz, who responded: “Why aren’t you personally in jail for not controlling 100% of all crime in France?”.

Durov has said Telegram obeys “all” legal requests but will leave all jurisdictions where censorship is mandated. He also reiterated that the platform will not violate user privacy by sharing encryption keys or creating backdoors.

As earlier reported by Cryptopolitan, his recent appearance at a Paris court shows that French authorities continue to press the case. This comes even as Telegram has stepped up cooperation.

The case against Durov reflects the mounting friction between law enforcement and tech platforms over who should bear responsibility for online content, as governments around the world tighten their scrutiny of social media and messaging services. It also marks yet another instance of Durov openly criticizing French authorities.

 In September, he addressed his legal troubles in France by calling out authorities for sidestepping official EU channels and interrogating him directly. 

In his defense, Durov pointed to Telegram’s active moderation practices, including the daily removal of harmful content and collaboration with NGOs, while reaffirming his commitment to safeguarding the nearly one billion users on the platform.

TON adoption grows as Telegram’s Web3 scene expands

Telegram has become a hub for Web3 activity thanks to its integration with The Open Network (TON), whose native token, Toncoin (TON -2.43%), ranks as the world’s twenty-first largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, according to price data. Toncoin has also been adopted by Verb Technology, a digital asset treasury (DAT) company that holds more than 8% of the token’s circulating supply and plans to rebrand as Ton Strategy Company.

User activity on TON spiked in the weeks following Pavel Durov’s arrest, though engagement has since eased from those highs, according to data from The Block.

Durov was first permitted to leave France in March to travel to Dubai, where Telegram is headquartered, and his family resides. Under an appeals court ruling, he may travel only to Dubai for 14 consecutive days per trip, provided he notifies the investigating judge one week in advance. Travel to any other destination requires separate authorization from a French judge.

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