As we know, Telegram was launched in 2013 as a messaging platform similar to WhatsApp and has evolved into an everything app that also provides services including news feeds, shopping and games.

In his first public comments since being arrested in Paris, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov defended the app. He was charged for failing to stop the spread of illicit content. Governments have accused the platform of becoming a gathering place for conspiracy theorists and extremists.

Durov has taken a hands-off approach to moderating content on the app. According to Paris authorities, he declined to respond to legal requests or cooperate with law enforcement agencies.

In a post on Telegram on September 5, 2024, Pavel stated that the platform has been cooperative with EU requests and that the site takes down millions of harmful posts each day. He further stated that this does not mean that Telegram is perfect. However, the claims in some media that Telegram is some sort of anarchic paradise are absolutely untrue. He promised that he plans to improve the way the site handles harmful content and make it easier for the authorities to send request to the app.

The platform may put some guardrails in place. It may allow users in private chats to flag questionable content.

Durov believes his detention in France is an overreach since the government is taking legal action against the service itself, rather than holding executives personally responsible. It is a misguided approach.

Building technology is hard enough as it is. No innovator, he asserts, will ever build new tools if they know they can be personally held responsible for potential abuse of these tools.

The EU is quietly gathering evidence to support the case.