Telegram founder Pavel Durov has dismissed the criminal case against him in France as groundless, claiming the accusations of extremism and child abuse are based on actions of Telegram users, not the platform itself.

In an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson, Durov said he was baffled by the legal actions taken against him, labeling them unfair and politically motivated. “They first claimed we failed to respond to legal requests, but that simply isn’t true,” he said, emphasizing that Telegram has complied with all legally binding demands from authorities.

Durov, a Dubai-based billionaire originally from Russia, was arrested in France in August 2024 over alleged complicity in crimes reportedly carried out via Telegram, including child abuse and extremist content. He was later released on €5 million bail and remains under restricted supervision. Although he was allowed to travel to the UAE in March, his recent application to visit the United States was denied.

He criticized the French legal system’s broad interpretation of complicity, calling the case “unprecedented” and noting that other much smaller apps have never faced such scrutiny. “It’s not something I did. It’s something others did using a tool I built, which now serves a billion people,” Durov said, drawing a comparison to holding a president criminally liable for a citizen’s independent actions.

Following his arrest, Telegram updated its privacy policy to allow the retention of user metadata—such as IP addresses and device info—for up to a year. The platform now states it may share this data with judicial authorities if a user is suspected of criminal activity.

Durov also condemned recent censorship moves by the European Union, which blocked access to Telegram channels run by major Russian media outlets. He argued the EU now imposes more media restrictions than Russia, suggesting that political pressure is mounting against platforms that resist centralized control.