On August 27, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) formally charged Pavel Durov, the co-founder of the encrypted messaging platform Telegram, with 'aiding terrorism' and issued an international arrest warrant for him.
According to the FSB, Telegram has failed to remove 'channels, chats, and bots' used by 'Ukrainian special agencies and terrorist and extremist organizations' to prepare and coordinate attacks within Russian territory. These attacks include 'sabotage, terrorism, mass killings, and cyber fraud,' the FSB said.
There has been no official comment from Durov or Telegram. However, the official Telegram account on X posted an image of Durov giving the middle finger shortly after the charges were announced.
The move comes as Moscow seeks to limit the use of Telegram and other popular messaging apps like WhatsApp, while promoting a state-backed messaging service called MAX. Experts warn that MAX, which openly states it will share user data with authorities upon request, does not use end-to-end encryption to ensure private messages.
The Russian government has also blocked social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and tightened restrictions on services like YouTube.
Durov, born in Russia but now a citizen of the UAE and France, co-founded Telegram in 2013. Previously, he founded the social network VKontakte (Russia's equivalent of Facebook) and sold his remaining stake in 2014 under pressure from Russian authorities. He has claimed that in 2014 he was pressured to hand over account data of pro-democracy Ukrainian activists but refused.
Earlier this year, Durov announced that Russian authorities had opened a criminal investigation against him and accused them of fabricating the case to restrict Telegram in order to 'suppress privacy and free speech.'
In addition to the investigation in Russia, Durov faces a legal probe in France related to allegations that Telegram has not adequately prevented criminal activity on the platform and has not fully cooperated with law enforcement requests. Durov denies all wrongdoing.
Durov maintains a hands-off approach to censorship, positioning Telegram as a private and uncensored app. However, some experts warn this approach has made Telegram a hotspot for illegal activity and extremism.
