- Telegram could face stricter control rules
- The platform will be investigated to see if it has more users than it claims
- Telegram founder detained
Telegram could face stricter control rules
Telegram may be subject to very strict digital rules in the European Union (EU). The announcement comes as Brussels investigates whether the popular messaging app, whose founder is facing criminal charges in France, has more users on its block than it claims.
The platform was spotlighted after its CEO, Pavel Durov, was arrested in France on Saturday. He has already been released on bail but cannot leave the country. Durov is accused of failing to curb extremist and illegal content on a platform with more than 900 million followers.
"Telegram was already in the EU's sights before the French criminal investigation. Senior EU officials have described Telegram as a "problem". But now, independently of the French investigation, the European Commission is looking into whether Telegram has reached the minimum number of users that would make it subject to stricter rules.
The platform will be investigated to see if it has more users than it claims
The EU is focusing on the platform's "social network" part, which has channels with hundreds of thousands of subscribers, rather than on individual correspondence between contacts like WhatsApp or Signal.
A new law, known as the Digital Services Act (DSA), which came into force in February, obliges all platforms operating in the EU to protect internet users from illegal and harmful content.
However, platforms with at least 45 million monthly active users in the EU are subject to even higher obligations and are regulated by the Commission rather than national authorities. Obligations include identifying the risks posed by platforms and implementing measures to mitigate them, as well as ensuring third-party audits.
The EU classifies 25 platforms as "very large", including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube.
Telegram escaped the additional rules by claiming 41 million users in 27 EU countries in February. The Commission admitted that it had "doubts" about Telegram's claims.
Telegram founder detained
As a reminder, Telegram's founder and CEO, Durov, is currently facing criminal proceedings. Durov, a 39-year-old billionaire technology tycoon, was detained on Saturday at Paris-Bourges airport. French authorities charged him with multiple offenses related to Telegram on Wednesday and banned him from leaving the country, but they allowed him to go free after four days of detention.
The charges relate to alleged offences involving an organised group, including "contributing to the administration of an online platform with the intent to facilitate an illegal transaction". Durov is also charged with refusing to share documents requested by the authorities and "distributing images of minors in child pornography within an organized group," as well as drug trafficking, fraud, and money laundering.
His lawyer, David-Olivier Kaminski, said it was "absurd" to suggest that Durov could be linked to any crime committed on the app, adding, "Telegram complies in all respects with European rules on digital technology." One source also claimed that Durov was being separately investigated for alleged "serious violence" against one of his children while he and his ex-partner, the boy's mother, were in Paris.
P. Durov is a citizen of Russia, France, and the United Arab Emirates, where Telegram is based. The technology tycoon founded Telegram a decade ago when he was preparing to leave his homeland of Russia. The app's growth has been tremendous, with more than 900 million users today.
Based on ELTA reports
