Media learned about Durov's promise in French court to improve Telegram moderation
The founder of the Telegram messenger, businessman Pavel Durov, has told judges in France that he intends to improve the moderation of the messenger. This was reported by French TV channel FranceInfo on January 17, citing sources.
"Pavel Durov, accompanied by three of his lawyers, answered [the judges' question] and promised that Telegram intends to "improve its moderation procedures. " He also said that the social network deletes between 15 and 20 million user accounts worldwide every month for breaking the law," the publication says.
According to the publication, despite the measures applied by Durov, the use of Telegram by criminals has only increased. So, in the period from 2017 to 2024, about 2 thousand crimes committed through the messenger were recorded, the material noted.
Durov was detained in the evening of August 24 in the Paris airport Le Bourget. He was charged with a number of crimes, which include drug distribution, crime against children, money laundering and fraud.
On August 26, Durov was released from custody on his own recognizance and bail of €5 million. The court confiscated his passports for the duration of the investigation and ordered the businessman to live in Paris at a specific address. The French prosecutor's office told Izvestia on September 6 that the businessman will be able to seek a change in the rules of his judicial control and their relaxation. Paris prosecutor Laure Becco on September 11 pointed out that the case of the Telegram founder is exemplary in the fight against cybercrime.
The newspaper Le Figaro reported on Sept. 20 that Durov had agreed to cooperate with the investigation in France, triggering requests for information from several states at once.
On December 6, radio station Europe1 reported that Durov was questioned for the first time on the merits in a Paris court as part of the ongoing case against him in France. It was specified that the Telegram founder admitted to trusting French justice, but refused to comment further.
