Durov warns France risks collapse over rising censorship and harsh regulations

Telegram founder Pavel Durov has issued a sharp warning about the growing threat of state-imposed censorship in France. In an interview with French media, Durov explained that society will be destabilized as long as the state continues its attempts to increase its regulatory powers over digital spaces.

He also condemned the growing tendency in France to rely on legislative acts like the Digital Services Act (DSA) of the EU, which requires platforms active in Europe to moderate their content. According to Durov, these frameworks are “Trojan horses” that exploit the language of consumer safety to enable political censorship.

“They target so-called conspiracy theorists today, but tomorrow, they may be used against the very people who crafted them,” Durov stated in an interview with Le Point recently. He cautioned that over-dependence on the top-down control of information undermines community confidence and destroys the democratic structure in the country.

Durov rejects censorship demands from French intelligence

During the interview, Durov accused French authorities of directly contacting him to censor political content on Telegram. In particular, he recounted a meeting at the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris with Nicolas Lerner, the head of France’s intelligence agency, during which he was pressured to filter pro-conservative messages to the 2025 presidential election of Romania.

Durov declined, pointing to the policy of neutrality followed by Telegram, as well as its opposition to political involvement. He voiced an alarm that the requests are part of a larger trend of government efforts to silence dissent on the pretext of combating disinformation.

Durov cautioned that the increased regulation of digital platforms in France has already begun pushing professionals and innovators away. He mentioned Dubai as a new heavy source of tech talent escaping Western European overregulation.

“France is becoming weaker,” he said. “If you raise entire generations with a specific mindset and restrict change for decades, then a collapse becomes inevitable when that system can no longer adapt.”

He also linked his legal problems to those of France. In August 2024, Durov was arrested in France under disputable circumstances. Durov confessed that he is still unclear on the nature of the arrest and detention, but insisted that the process underscores how vulnerable digital freedoms are even in democracies.

Malaysia joins the crackdown on Telegram

This news comes as the communications regulator in Malaysia has made a civil case against two Telegram channels. The regulator is accusing them of distributing potentially dangerous material that might threaten trust and social harmony. It flagged the channels, “Edisi Siasat” and “Edisi Khas,” which published unvalidated writing concerning the structures and law enforcement agencies.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) explained that the move resulted from Telegram’s constant failure to regulate reported content. The regulator said it had negotiated with Telegram, but the platform failed to address the complaints. The lawsuit is the first ever case Malaysia has filed against a provider of a social media platform over customer-generated harmful content.

With almost 1.2 million subscribers, Edisi Siasat and Edisi Khas have been circulating unconfirmed news that the commission says may impair the reputation of national institutions.