Russia charges Telegram founder Durov with facilitating terrorism

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has charged the founder of the Telegram messaging app, Pavel Durov, with facilitating terrorism. The FSB alleges that Telegram was used by Ukrainian secret services to prepare and coordinate acts of sabotage and terror inside Russia, and that the platform failed to remove channels, chats, and bots used by Ukraine.

An international arrest warrant has been issued for Durov, who was born in Russia but lives abroad and holds French and United Arab Emirates passports. It is unclear whether other countries will comply with the warrant. Shortly after the charges were announced, Telegram's official account on X posted a picture of Durov showing his middle finger.

Durov, 41, is a multi-billionaire. He has previously accused Russian authorities of "fabricating new pretexts to restrict Russians' access to Telegram." He left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with government demands to shut down opposition communities on the platform. Durov previously founded VKontakte, often called the "Facebook of Russia."

Telegram is used by around 950 million people worldwide and is popular in both Russia and Ukraine. The platform has positioned itself as focused on user privacy, but has faced criticism over insufficient content moderation, which it denies.

In 2024, Durov was arrested in France and placed under formal investigation for similar allegations of failing to properly moderate the app to reduce criminality. He was allowed to return home months later, with the investigation ongoing.