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Recently, the media reported that it was only after Pavel Durov was arrested in France last year that Telegram began to comply with EU laws and respond to government requests. Durov commented on these statements on his Telegram channel, saying that the company had always complied with European laws.
Earlier this week, the French TV channel BFMTV reported that only the charges brought against Pavel Durov forced Telegram to comply with European law. The journalists quoted prosecutor Laure Beccuau, who said last year that Telegram was ignoring government requests:
[td]"Telegram's almost complete refusal to respond to judicial requests attracted the attention of the cybercrime unit of J3 JUNALCO (the National Court for the Fight against Organized Crime, part of the Paris Public Prosecutor's Office) and the juvenile justice department (OFMIN). Other French investigative services and prosecutors, as well as partners within Eurojust, in particular the Belgian ones, noted the same thing during consultations. This prompted JUNALCO to open an investigation into the possible criminal liability of the managers of this messaging service."[/td]In response to this, Pavel Durov published a message on his Telegram channel, in which he called these statements a lie:
[td]“Yesterday, a French newspaper claimed that my arrest in France last summer had “finally” forced Telegram to comply with European law. This is a lie. Telegram has always complied with EU law.
It was the French police that finally started “complied with European law” — sending their requests to Telegram in a legal way, as described in the EU Digital Services Act. As a result, French courts were able to obtain IP addresses of criminal suspects from Telegram.
Information about this legal way of contacting us was available long before my arrest in France, in our apps, on our website, or simply by searching for “telegram eu police”. Why the French courts and police ignored this process, clearly defined by EU law, remains a mystery, but it is unfair to claim that Telegram somehow ignored European rules. Paradoxically, it was the French law enforcement that somehow ignored them.
I love France and respect its police, so I did not want to put anyone in an awkward position by pointing out the above. But I cannot ignore the spread of such obvious disinformation about Telegram," Durov said.[/td]The Telegram creator also recalled that the messenger is the second most popular messaging app in the world. He emphasizes that the company spends millions of dollars annually to comply with legal requirements around the world, and in the EU, it prepares for their entry into force in advance.
Recall that in August 2024, Pavel Durov was detained at Le Bourget Airport and charged with various crimes identified on the platform (including pedophilia, money laundering, and drug trafficking).
Even then, French law enforcement officials said that the Telegram team was not fighting illegal content and was not cooperating with the authorities. And Pavel Durov had previously denied these statements.
In March 2025, it became known that the Telegram founder, with the permission of the court, left France and returned to Dubai.
Earlier this week, the French TV channel BFMTV reported that only the charges brought against Pavel Durov forced Telegram to comply with European law. The journalists quoted prosecutor Laure Beccuau, who said last year that Telegram was ignoring government requests:
It was the French police that finally started “complied with European law” — sending their requests to Telegram in a legal way, as described in the EU Digital Services Act. As a result, French courts were able to obtain IP addresses of criminal suspects from Telegram.
Information about this legal way of contacting us was available long before my arrest in France, in our apps, on our website, or simply by searching for “telegram eu police”. Why the French courts and police ignored this process, clearly defined by EU law, remains a mystery, but it is unfair to claim that Telegram somehow ignored European rules. Paradoxically, it was the French law enforcement that somehow ignored them.
I love France and respect its police, so I did not want to put anyone in an awkward position by pointing out the above. But I cannot ignore the spread of such obvious disinformation about Telegram," Durov said.[/td]
Recall that in August 2024, Pavel Durov was detained at Le Bourget Airport and charged with various crimes identified on the platform (including pedophilia, money laundering, and drug trafficking).
Even then, French law enforcement officials said that the Telegram team was not fighting illegal content and was not cooperating with the authorities. And Pavel Durov had previously denied these statements.
In March 2025, it became known that the Telegram founder, with the permission of the court, left France and returned to Dubai.