Court: ‘Telegram CEO Can’t Leave France’
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
PARIS/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Telegram suffered another setback late Wednesday when French authorities prevented the CEO of the social media platform and messaging service from leaving France pending a criminal investigation.
Russia-born Pavel Durov, who launched Telegram in 2013 with his brother, Nikolai, was handed preliminary charges for allowing alleged criminal activity on his platform, which now has more than 950 million users.
Critics have condemned the move as part of a broader attempt by European Union nations such as France to censor one of the world’s most widely used messaging services.
Durov, 39, was detained on Saturday at Le Bourget airport outside Paris as part of a broader investigation opened earlier this year.
He was released earlier Wednesday after four days of questioning.
Investigative judges filed preliminary charges Wednesday night and ordered the billionaire to pay 5 million euros (nearly $5.6 million] bail and to report to a police station twice a week.
Telegram has denied wrongdoing, saying it “abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act,” and adds that “its moderation is within industry standards and consistently improving.
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