French Pressure on Telegram Over Moldova
Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov claimed French intelligence services pressured the platform to censor political content related to Moldova’s 2024 election. According to Durov, the request came with an implicit offer to speak positively about him to the judge in his ongoing trial, which he rejected.
Durov said Telegram removed some posts that violated its terms of service but refused to delete additional political content. He explained that a second list of “problematic” Moldovan channels was largely compliant with Telegram’s rules, except they expressed views that French and Moldovan authorities disliked.
Support From Crypto Industry and Free Speech Advocates
The revelations follow Durov’s arrest in France in August 2024, which sparked outrage across the crypto industry and human rights groups. His case has since become symbolic of a larger battle between technology platforms defending online freedom and state governments enforcing censorship policies.
Durov highlighted that similar pressure came in May 2025 when French authorities pushed Telegram to censor Romanian election-related content, a request he also refused.
Durov’s Warning on Democracy and Surveillance
“You can’t ‘defend democracy’ by destroying democracy. You can’t ‘fight election interference’ by interfering with elections,” Durov wrote, stressing that censorship undermines free elections.
He warned that France is approaching societal collapse due to restrictive policies and censorship. Durov also said Telegram would exit any jurisdiction, including France, before compromising user privacy through encryption backdoors or state surveillance demands.
EU Push for Mass Chat Monitoring
Durov’s statements come amid broader EU proposals to monitor all digital communications, including encrypted messages. In 2025, the plan gained support from 19 EU member states, heightening concerns about privacy and online freedom across Europe.
