Pavel Durov, Telegram’s founder and CEO, revealed on X that he was pressured by the French intelligence services to censor Moldovan political voices ahead of last year’s presidential election.
Durov, who was arrested in France in 2024 and remains under investigation, stated that he was asked to limit access to certain Telegram channels in exchange for concessions in his case. Durov states that a list was provided, which Telegram was asked to take action against.
Durov wrote on X today:
“After reviewing the channels flagged by French (and Moldovan) authorities, we identified a few that clearly violated our rules and removed them. The intermediary then informed me that, in exchange for this cooperation, French intelligence would “say good things” about me to the judge who had ordered my arrest in August last year.”
However, this pressure did not end here. Durov explained that soon after Telegram took action against the groups mentioned in the first list, the Telegram team was provided a second list of what were referred to as “problematic” Moldovan channels.
In contrast to the first list, Telegram found that almost all of the channels in the second list adhered to the rules and were entirely legitimate. The sole similarity they shared was their expression of political views that were unpopular with the French and Moldovan governments. This led Durov to decide against acting on the request, even though it would put the founder in a bad light.
Despite the turmoil, Telegram appears to be expanding its integration with cryptocurrency. Toncoin (TON), the native cryptocurrency of The Open Network blockchain, is deeply integrated with Telegram. However, Telegram’s direct involvement is limited due to regulatory issues.
In July, it introduced its self-custodial wallet, which is now available to 87 million users across the U.S. and allows users to transfer TONcoin and other assets directly to other users of the app. In June, a crypto investment app called Affluent launched on Telegram.
Related: Crypto Confession: “I Sold Family Land for a Token That Went to Zero”
The ecosystem of TON comprises mini apps, decentralized services, and the ability to utilize Web3 transactions, aiming to leverage Telegram’s more than 1 billion users for mainstream crypto adoption.
TON was trading at $2.69 on Sunday, down 0.07% over the past 24 hours, following a tumultuous week that saw a decline of over 12%, including steep falls from $3.20 earlier this month.
