Telegram CEO called it "wrong" his arrest in France

He also dismissed accusations that “Telegram is some kind of anarchic paradise” as “absolutely false.” “We remove millions of harmful posts and channels every day,” he said.

He also denied the French accusations, as the platform did not respond to requests from his authorities and said he had personally helped them “establish a line of contact with Telegram to deal with the threat of terrorism” in the country.

Durov, 39, was charged after four days in detention in France on several charges related to failing to combat extremist and illegal content posted on his app. His arrest sparked solidarity from another tech mogul and head of the social network X, Elon Musk, who posted comments with the hashtag #FreePavel.

Purov was released on bail of 5 million euros ($5.5 million) on condition that he not leave France and report to a police station twice a week.

“Growing problems”

The CEO also admitted that the growing number of Telegram users (which he puts at 950 million worldwide) “has caused growth problems that make it easier for criminals to abuse the platform.”

“That’s why I’ve made it my personal goal to ensure that things improve significantly in this regard,” added the businessman, who said that the issue is being worked on “internally” and that he will reveal more details in the future.

“I hope the events of August will ultimately make Telegram (and the social media industry as a whole) safer and stronger,” he wrote.

But he also warned that if Telegram does not agree “on the right balance between privacy and security” with local regulators, then “they are willing to leave the country.”

With information from AFP.