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Russia charges Telegram founder Durov with aiding terrorism
DW.com • • general
Key Points:
- Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has charged Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, with aiding terrorist activities and issued an international arrest warrant as part of an ongoing criminal investigation.
- The FSB accuses Telegram of failing to remove channels and bots allegedly used by Ukrainian intelligence to coordinate sabotage, terrorist attacks, and cyberfraud within Russia, causing deaths and significant material damage.
- Telegram has faced restrictions in Russia since August, with Russian courts fining the company over $1.26 million this year for not removing banned content; Kremlin officials have discussed restoring full operations but cite little initiative from Telegram.
- Pavel Durov, a Russian-born billionaire now based in Dubai, created Telegram in 2013 and left Russia in 2014 after refusing to hand over user data; he promotes the app as a privacy and free speech platform, though critics highlight issues with moderation.
