[Regnum] The European Union is punishing companies for refusing to restrict freedom of speech by imposing impossible rules on them. Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced this on December 6.
"The EU is imposing impossible rules to punish tech companies that refuse to silently censor free speech. We saw the same thing in France: a baseless 'criminal investigation,' and then the intelligence services offered their assistance if Telegram quietly censors free speech in Romania and Moldova," Durov wrote in a post on social media.
He clarified that EU leaders only prosecute companies that host inconvenient statements by dissenting voices. Meanwhile, companies that algorithmically suppress users are largely untouched by Brussels, even if they commit other types of violations, the Telegram founder noted.
In August 2024, Durov was arrested at Le Bourget Airport in Paris. He was charged with 10 criminal offenses. Durov stated that French authorities accused him of poor content moderation and that some of the platform's users were using it for illegal purposes. Four days later, the Telegram founder was released under supervision and ordered to post €5 million bail. Durov noted that the charges against him were absurd and damaged France's image.
In October, Telegram's founder wrote that France had initiated legislation requiring online service providers in the EU to monitor messages on users' devices. Durov noted that if such a law were passed, EU citizens would be the first in the world to be deprived of their right to privacy.
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