Telegram's Durov repeats claim France interfered in Romania vote
The co-founder and CEO of the Telegram messaging app, Pavel Durov, on Tuesday repeated his allegation that French intelligence pressured him to interfere in this month's Romanian presidential election.
Durov's renewed claim during the Oslo Freedom Forum contradicted a denial by the DGSE, the foreign intelligence service of France, where he faces charges related to criminal activity on the Telegram platform.
"I was indeed asked by the head of French intelligence, Nicolas Lerner", to turn off conservative Romanian Telegram channels ahead of the election, Durov said in an appearance by video after French judicial authorities denied his request to travel to Norway.
"It's very important to be very transparent about what kinds of request we receive," added Durov, who did not provide fresh evidence for his claim.
The 40-year-old, who holds French and Russian passports, was detained in Paris in August 2024 and is under investigation over illegal content on his popular messaging service.
The Romanian election, re-run due to alleged Russian interference after a first-round vote put a far-right candidate ahead, ultimately saw pro-European centrist Nicusor Dan defeat nationalist George Simion.
Romania's constitutional court on Thursday denied Simion's challenge to the results, which he based in part on claims of French and Moldovan interference. The court called his allegations "completely false and unfounded".
The DGSE last week said it has contacted Durov in the past "to firmly remind him of (Telegram's) responsibilities... concerning prevention of terrorist and child pornography threats".
But it "refuted vigorously" his allegations about attempted Romanian election interference.
Durov also said Tuesday that Telegram "received a demand from the French police to shut down a public channel on Telegram which was organised by far-left protesters and demonstrators".
The channel "seemed completely legitimate, and we refused to comply, despite the obvious personal risks I'm taking", he added.
Durov was allowed in March to travel to Dubai, where his company is based, but French judicial authorities have more recently stopped him travelling to the United States to meet investors or to Norway for the Freedom Forum, organised by the Human Rights Foundation, a non-profit organisation.
He called the investigation "frustratingly slow", adding that Telegram was "held at higher standards than most other platforms" -- with the likes of Facebook or Snapchat "protected by this big American government".
Since his arrest, Durov had appeared to bow to Paris's demands for stronger efforts to ensure illegal content -- such as child abuse and drug trading -- was not on Telegram.
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