Russia charges Telegram founder Pavel Durov with ‘aiding terrorism’

Russia’s FSB security agency announced the charge against Durov on Wednesday, saying his company failed to take down “channels, chats and bots” used by “Ukrainian special services and by terrorist and extremist ⁠organisations” to prepare and coordinate attacks in Russia.

There was no official comment from Durov or Telegram, but Telegram’s official account on X posted a photograph of Durov holding up his middle finger after the charge was announced.

What we know

Russia’s government has also blocked social media like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram while ramping up restrictions on services like YouTube. Before that, he launched Russia’s Facebook equivalent, VKontakte, before selling his remaining stake in 2014 amid pressure from Russian authorities.

Earlier this year, Durov announced that the Russian authorities had opened a criminal investigation against him and accused them of fabricating pretexts to restrict access to Telegram as part of an attempt to “suppress the right to privacy and free speech”. In addition to the Russian investigation, Durov faces a legal probe in France over allegations that Telegram failed to adequately counter criminal activity on the platform ⁠and did not sufficiently cooperate with law enforcement requests.

The FSB - Russia's domestic security service - said Telegram had been used "to prepare and co-ordinate acts of sabotage and terror" inside Russia and had failed to remove channels, chats and bots used by Ukraine.

The details

Durov, who was born in Russia but now holds Emirati and French ⁠passports, co-founded Telegram in 2013. Durov claimed he had been under coercion to give Russian authorities access to data from accounts of Ukrainian pro-democracy activists in 2014 – and that he refused to do so. Multi-billionaire Durov, 41, has lived outside of Russia for many years and holds French and United Arab Emirates (UAE) passports. Durov was arrested and placed under formal investigation in France in 2024 over allegations of failure to properly moderate the app to reduce criminality.

Reactions

Shortly after the charge was announced, Telegram's account on X posted an image showing Durov holding up his middle finger. He has previously accused Russian authorities of "fabricating new pretexts to restrict Russians' access to Telegram". He had previously founded popular Russian social media company VKontakte - dubbed the "Facebook of Russia".

What to watch

Experts warn that MAX, which openly declares it will share user data with authorities upon request, does not use end-to-end encryption that ensures messages remain private. It is unclear whether other countries or authorities would comply with an arrest warrant issued by Russia.